Wisdom
by Cytisus
Summary: Mostly quiet and unobtrusive, sometimes the recluse is really the most omniscient of the team. Grin's POV, post "The Final Face Off." Rated T for violence.
1. Knowledge

Two-, possibly three-shot, with Grin's POV on the events after, "The Final Face Off." I was challenging myself with tense, seeing as though there are continual flashbacks, and had a heck of a time with formatting to clearly distinguish past from present from past—uh—retrospect? But hey, gotta practice somehow!

So, that said, " / / / " leads you into a flashback, and " \ \ \ " leads you out of one. Line breaks are for heavier scene shifts. I hesitantly promise it won't be too confusing!

Rated T for violence.

* * *

_"True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing." -Socrates_

* * *

He had always been large for his age.

Check Hardwing was and would always be the tallest in a room. It was partly why he enjoyed sitting cross-legged all the time; crouched on the floor he was closer to eye level, which innately made him less intimidating.

His master had bestowed that wisdom onto him, just as his master had bestowed countless other tactics to help the large gray duck control his anger. His sensei had been his true savior before the war, and had given him his most precious possession:

His new name.

Check Hardwing was a rough name that was associated with a violent bully. He had ruined the moniker as a young duck and would spend the rest of his life trying to rectify it as Grin, the pacifist.

He owed it to his master, to himself, and to everyone he had hurt as a child.

Grin took a long deep breath, his eyes lightly closed and the palms of his hands resting comfortably on his legs. He had researched all of the religions on Earth and had found Buddhism to be very similar to his way of life. It was humbling to find similar traits in another universe. The many paths of wisdom led the same direction, it would seem.

Today marked one Puckworld Revolution since the Saurian Overlord was defeated (which was a little under one and a half revolutions of Earth to the sun, according to Tanya), and in his sensei's tradition, he was honoring the takedown of his enemies.

Many would argue that these enemies did not deserve any sort of recognition, and after the atrocities they had committed Grin would be inclined to agree. But this particular instance was not about recognition or respect to the Saurians; it was about honoring all those that had succumbed at their hands.

His meditation crystals were strategically placed and the lights were off sans a few scattered candles, their orange glow laying heavy shadows across Grin's bedroom floor. With everything in order and his mind at rest, Grin let the memories consume him.

* * *

_1 Revolution Ago_

It had been a few weeks since the Mighty Ducks had sent Dragaunus and his minions to the bottom of the ocean. The team had negotiated borrowing one of the U.S. Navy's most advanced submarines to infiltrate the waterlogged ship and take down the Saurian Overlord once and for all.

Grin had always been good under pressure, no pun intended. His master had taught him to remain calm during unreasonably stressful situations, and—though it was an amazing trait—it also made him appear disconnected from the situation at hand.

But he was always watching, protecting his teammates, and ready for his orders from the leader.

Siege had been the first to attack, and the first to die. The behemoth of a Saurian came in blasting with a barrage of Hunter Drones, and through the mess he had managed to get his hands on Nosedive.

/ / /

With an explosive device in hand, he ordered the team to surrender their weapons or witness the death of a comrade.

Wildwing was instantaneous. He ordered everyone to place their weapons down, his own hands up in surrender. But Grin could see through his actions, even with the Drake DuCaine Mask:

He was prepared to charge, knock Nosedive out of the way, and most likely take the brunt of the explosion with Siege.

Wildwing was always like that. It was his never-ending quest to be as good of a leader as Canard had been.

Funnily enough, he had surpassed that feat long ago.

Grin was the only one who could physically hold his own against Siege. Without orders, he charged the giant reptilian.

"GRIN!" Wildwing yelled out.

But it was too late. Grin had been off to the side of Siege, making his attack a surprise to the hefty Saurian, whose sights had been solely fixed on Wildwing.

With a combined grunt the two rolled, the device in Siege's hand coming with them. Nosedive managed to dodge out of the way before being taken along, as well.

As they tumbled, Siege lost grip of the device. It clattered to the floor and began to beep.

\ \ \

Grin's master had always been aware of Grin's impulsivity. It came with the territory of being a bully. Even after vigorous training, Grin could never quite learn how to tame the sudden decisions that flooded his mind.

As a bully, it had made him attack without mercy and for no reason. As a trained fighter, it made him act selflessly when those he cared for were in danger.

/ / /

"Hold on, Grin!" Duke hollered. There was a shot and the sound of rappelling. Grin felt something take ahold of his boot and, before he knew it, both he and the attached shoe were being dragged away from Siege at remarkable speed.

Siege barely had time to sit up and comprehend the situation before the device's beeping reached its climax and detonated next to him.

Grin felt the heat of the explosion radiate behind him as Duke's saber pulled him back to the rest of his teammates. Nosedive offered the big duck a hand as Duke dislodged the small grappling hook from Grin's boot.

"I'm glad ya like yer boots on tight, Grin—but eh, I owe ya a new pair," Duke admonished, but smiled cheekily as a chunk of the collar fell off Grin's shoe.

As Grin accepted Nosedive's hand and stood, the younger duck smirked at him. "Yeah, thanks for trying to have all the fun over there, Grinster." As Grin looked down at him, however, he saw the true gratitude in his smile.

Wildwing patted him on the arm. He didn't say anything, but he didn't have to.

"Hunter drones, ten o'clock!" Mallory yelled out, aiming her puck bazooka and firing.

"Let's move, team!" Wildwing ordered.

\ \ \

Drones were easy enough to destroy, but Dragaunus had sizeable numbers of them to slow the ducks down. They had come in hordes, and each time the team had to fight their way through the onslaught.

On top of that, they had to be careful as they traversed the blood red ship: certain rooms were closed off, and about half of those rooms were completely flooded. Some were obvious with heavy leaking seeping through the cracks of the door seals, but others were not.

The Raptor had always been a maze of corridors, and during that mission it seemed water had penetrated through every bit of damage the hull had taken during its crash landing. The emergency protocol had sealed all access points off as a precautionary measure, to preserve the rooms that had not been destroyed by the intense pressure of the surrounding ocean floor. Wildwing had used the Mask to ensure their safety before opening each hatch, but it had been time-consuming and allowed their enemies enough time to plan another attack.

The team's worries had been founded.

/ / /

At the fourth juncture, while waiting for Wildwing to inspect what lay beyond the door, he barely had time to yell, "MOVE!" before the panel had been triggered open and a rush of water barreled through.

The hallway became a levee as the ducks were dragged and rolled down the corridor, the seawater icy and frothy from the rough movements. After thirty feet the tidal wave died down, leaving the team coughing and sputtering to find their footing.

A fireball landed next to Duke, sizzling in the remnants of ocean puddling on the metal ground. The ex-thief rolled to avoid the licks of flame, and scrambled to his feet as another burst of flames exploded where he had been seconds prior.

Grin looked up and saw Wraith floating near the ceiling, another fireball already forming at his fingertips. There was a shout, and a thin laser line shot up and hit Wraith square in the hand. He hollered out in pain, the fireball dissipating as the magic waned.

Following the laser's line of origin, Grin saw Tanya aiming her Omnitool at Wraith, a deadly scowl across her features.

"Grin, a lift!"

The large duck recognized the voice and turned to see Mallory running for him at full speed. She had holstered her weapon and—after a quick study of her direction—Grin was able to deduce her plan.

He bent low with one knee as she reached him, her right foot planting into his outstretched palms. As the redhead grasped his shoulders for leverage, Grin coordinated with her momentum and swung his arms up, accelerating her foot and body by proxy. Mallory was catapulted over the gray duck's gigantic frame and sent headfirst toward the old Saurian mage.

The time between Tanya's laser shot and Mallory's attack had been mere seconds, and Wraith's attention was still distracted. He looked up just as Mallory reached him, and with a heavy grunt they both careened to the floor.

The well-known staff of Wraith's clattered against the metal, the old Saurian slammed into the floor with a splash, and Mallory rolled into her landing, letting go of the Saurian as she did. It was obvious that the aged lizard was not use to such physical abuse, as he recovered slowly from the fall, blindly reaching for the staff that lay far beyond his reach.

Wildwing quickly stopped Wraith's progress with a bolo puck, effectively tying up the old Saurian as the captain made his way towards him.

Thunderous booms echoed the chamber, and Wildwing barely had time to call out before Mallory was sideswiped by Chameleon in beast form. The green lizard's attention, however, was on Wraith, and the female duck was not the target. Grin was closest and helped pull the redhead to her feet.

* * *

"Yo, Earth to Grinster, come in."

Present-day Grin opened his eyes and looked up at a pair of hazel eyes staring back at him. Nosedive was currently waving his hands in front of the large duck's face.

"Man, you were med-AY-tating to the extreme, there," Nosedive commented, standing upright once he realized he had Grin's attention. The blonde duck blinked curiously at the setup around the room, his hands loosely resting on his hips. "What's with the, uh, séance?"

Grin let out a small, albeit perturbed, sigh. "Memories must be honored."

"What memories?"

"A revolution has occurred, and it is custom to remember."

"You mean the Puckworld Revolution?" Nosedive quipped, familiar with the celebration that was similar to Earth's New Year festivities. "That's not until next month, dude."

Grin had returned his eyes to a resting state, but opened them up long enough to glare at the teenager still standing before him. "It seems you are in need of remembering."

Nosedive balked facetiously. "Well, excuse me for not remembering every gritty detail of our imprisonment here." The youngest team member looked up in thought, and Grin could almost hear the grinding of gears turning in Nosedive's head.

"Oh. Oh yeah. I guess it has been a year, huh?" he said, slightly more somber. He cleared his throat gently and cautiously looked back at Grin. "What's this do?" he asked, referring to the meditation Grin was performing.

"Memories honor the fallen—" Nosedive looked ready to rebuff the statement so Grin quickly added, "—_victims_ of our enemies."

Nosedive's mouth was left open and his rebuff lost with the added portion of Grin's sentence. He thought about it for a moment before sitting down to face the large gray duck, his own legs crossed underneath him.

Grin did not respond to his actions. He simply rested his eyes again and let the past take control once more.

* * *

_1_ _Revolution Ago_

"Talk about becoming collateral damage," Mallory grunted, holding her side while accepting Grin's outstretched hand.

Mallory shook her head at Grin's concerned expression as she straightened up and tested her injury with small torso twists. "I'm fine," she assured, shaking off the last of the hit.

Before either could say anything more, their attention was diverted to the Chameleon. His large beast form had successfully made it to Wraith's tied-up position before Wildwing could get there. The team captain held up his arm to fire again, but the Chameleon was surprisingly agile at that size and had already picked up Wraith and was on the move.

It took only milliseconds to realize where his booming steps were headed. Duke determinedly reached Wraith's staff first, throwing himself down to grab it and rolling out of the way before being trampled by the large beast.

The green Saurian roared in anger. Grin noticed that his actions were aggressive and very unlike the comedic personality Chameleon normally had.

He seemed feral, as if he was no longer in control of himself.

Chameleon, whether planned or simply a response to his anger at being thwarted, easily ripped off the ties around Wraith, freeing the old Saurian and allowing him to hover high above the ducks again. The bulky beast then turned his attention to Duke, letting out another roar before charging.

Duke took the staff and easily dodged the stampeding Chameleon, taking the opportunity to toss the heavy stick to Nosedive. A fireball landed mere feet from Duke's position, and the ex-thief jumped out of the way of its sizzling embers.

Thundering rumbles, louder than even the Chameleon, distracted the team momentarily. From another corridor down the hallway a horde of drones were making their way to them.

Between the bloodred robots, a crazed mind-controlled Chameleon, and Wraith's fireballs, the situation was beginning to look a little direr.

Wildwing shot pucks at the Chameleon, not issuing much damage but enraging the beast enough to keep his sights on the leader. Wraith's fireballs were now targeting Nosedive, who still had possession of the old Saurian's staff. Mallory shot explosive pucks at the oncoming horde, attempting to slow their imminent attack. Duke was making his way over to her to assist.

"Dive!"

Grin looked to see Tanya waving the teenager over. Grin had known her long enough to realize she had a plan.

Looking back to Wildwing, Grin saw that the Chameleon had nearly cornered their leader. His pucks, even at full charge, couldn't penetrate the large lizard's skin to do any damage.

Grin took the opportunity to charge the beast. Even Grin's form was smaller than Chameleon's, but he had the best chance of distracting the Saurian compared to the rest of the ducks.

With a heavy grunt, the large duck bowled into the side of Chameleon, knocking both of them into a roll.

* * *

"Grinster?"

Grin scowled with his eyes closed but peeked one eyelid open enough to look down at his teammate.

"Do you…" Nosedive hesitated slightly, "do you ever get nightmares about that day?"

Grin's eyes softened at his friend's question. He thought about the question for a moment before finally answering, "Yes."

Nosedive looked surprised at Grin's admission, but silently waited for more. When the large duck did not add anything else, the teenager frowned. "That's it? What, no words of wisdom here?"

Grin shrugged, closing his eyes again. "You did not ask for any."

* * *

_1 Revolution Ago_

"Dammit, Grin!" Wildwing yelled, aiming his arm weapon at the rolling duo in an attempt to assist the so-called pacifist of the team. A startled yell, however, distracted him.

Fireballs were coming faster now, and Nosedive was struggling to avoid them, even as they sizzled in the water lining the alloy floors. Wildwing turned his attention to Wraith, aimed and fired—

—hitting Wraith's throwing arm and causing the Saurian to holler out in pain.

Nosedive quickly took the opportunity to run the staff over to Tanya, who was frantically typing on her Omnitool.

Chameleon's attention had been diverted by Wraith's wail, and he angrily attempted to run after Wildwing. Grin, no longer the target, used all of his strength to try and hold the beast at bay.

\ \ \

As Grin remembered that day, the Chameleon's eyes came to mind: they were hazed with an unnatural red glow, not unlike Phil's when Wraith had successfully controlled the team manager's mind.

Wraith had unwilfully exploited Chameleon as his personal guard for the Saurians' last stand.

/ / /

As Nosedive reached Tanya, she successfully completed her task on the Omnitool and pushed a button, causing a chamber to open. She hastily put a puck into it, closing the lid. A blast next to her shoulder startled her, and Grin realized that the drones were upon them, firing their lasers.

Mallory and Duke were in the thick of it, using every ounce of their hand-to-hand combat skills now that their attempt to hold off the drones had failed. Wildwing ran towards their direction while Nosedive pushed Tanya out of harm's way.

Grin grunted, his hold on the Chameleon slipping. He had the beast's neck and arm locked within his own arms, but the sheer size of the Saurian was allowing him to pull out of the hold. As if to emphasize his strength, the Chameleon roared, pulling on his locked arm with all of his might and causing Grin's grip to falter.

The lizard took the opportunity to grab Grin's arm and, in one fell swoop, stepped forward and threw the duck over his head. Grin flew ten feet before falling and rolling, finding himself near the edge of a drone battle.

"HEAD'S UP!"

Nosedive's voice boomed as he threw the staff high in the air. Wraith was still recovering from the burn on his arm, but nonetheless tried to grab at the relic as it flew close by. Wildwing quickly shot another bolo puck at the Saurian before he could reach it, successfully tying him up for the second time and causing the old lizard to fall into the heap of drones.

Chameleon roared again and chased after the old Saurian, tossing drones out of his way to do so.

"GET OUT!" Nosedive yelled, ushering to his team as he and Tanya started to head down the long corridor.

Duke saw the staff land on the ground nearby and nearly went for it, before realizing what Grin had seen as the stick flew through the air:

An explosive puck was haphazardly strapped to the staff, blinking red faster and faster.

An expletive left Duke's mouth and he quickly backed away. "WING, MAL!"

"ON IT!" Mallory grunted, coming towards him slowly as she cleared her path with short-range puckblaster shots. Wildwing came in from the other side, using the same tactic, and once the three met up they quickly caught up to Grin and escaped with the rest of their team.

Chameleon had come in from the side, where Grin had been attempting to contain him, and had successfully reached Wraith by the time the ducks had exited the thick of the robot army. He untied the Saurian again, roaring and slapping drones away even though they were not attacking the duo.

Wildwing, Duke, Mallory, and Grin reached the end of the corridor, where a door blocked their path. Tanya and Nosedive were already there, Nosedive keeping watch while Tanya quickly hacked into the access module to the right of it.

"Tanya, we should be out of range here," Mallory said, also keeping watch as some of the drones started coming their way.

"Uh, nope, nuh-uh," Tanya barely registered, her full attention on the module. With a couple presses on her Omnitool, the door beeped and slid open. She quickly made her way through, the team following suit as she hastily beckoned them.

As soon as everyone was through, Tanya pressed a button on the module on the other side of the frame, closing the hatch.

Grin turned and saw Wraith reach his staff, a look of dawning etching his features as he turned towards the ducks. The heavy paneling closed, however, and blocked the ducks off from the drones and two Saurians.

_**BOOM!**_

* * *

Grin opened his eyes, sensing another presence. Nosedive was still in front of him, his eyes shut and his face contorted into a slight frown. He did not seem to notice that his brother was now next to him, also cross-legged.

Wildwing's eyes were closed, as well. Grin silently accepted the additional guest and took a deep breath, his companions doing the same thing.

* * *

_1 Revolution Ago_

Grin could remember the chemical smell as if it was in his room now.

/ / /

Even with the heavy alloy blocking them from the area, the resonating blast that entailed was enough to make most of the ducks cover their earholes. The doors bent at their seams like cardboard, hot air and smoke billowing through the resulting cracks.

The shockwave that had instantly followed knocked Grin off his feet, sending him rather ungracefully on his butt. The rest of the ducks were thrown off their own feet, toppling over one another as they fell into a heap on the floor. Creaks and groans from the ship made it very apparent that the Raptor was already barely containing its shape, and the new damage had destroyed what little structural integrity remained.

They did not have much time.

In the deafening silence of the bomb, the ducks slowly peeled themselves off the floor, coughing as the smoke filled the hallway and made it hard to breathe.

"Taunny Angel, what _was_ that?" Duke choked out, rubbing his shoulder and grimacing slightly as he stood up.

"My new beryllium bomb," Tanya stated matter-of-factly. "Buzz has really, uh, y'know—made the lab-grown version work well."

"Stars, that thing packed a punch," Nosedive groaned, dusting off his pants as he stood up. "Think it did the trick?"

No one answered him. With the doors halfway blown off their frame, the ducks slowly made their way to the other side by climbing over the bent metal. Along the opposite side of the doorway, charred remains of drones littered the floor as far as the eye could see.

Ground zero was apparent, as it was stark white from the chemical reaction it had with super-heated beryllium. A circular ring of partially melted alloy projected outwards, creating the unnerving appearance of an abstract art project. Due to the sheer force of the explosion, the immediate area around ground zero was relatively clean of debris. Nearly thirty feet of clearing could be seen before drone remnants began covering the corridor, some actually lodged into the walls of the large hallway.

Aside from the sounds of water dripping and the occasional spark of electricity from drone debris, the previous battle had been silenced to a deathly undertone.

As the ducks slowly waded through the mess, Mallory finally responded to Nosedive: "I think this answers your question."

Wildwing took a moment and stopped, bringing his hand up to the Mask and causing his eyes to glow red as his head turned in all directions, scanning.

"No lifeforms," Wildwing concluded, his voice more gruff than usual. "Come on team, we're almost there."

* * *

There was a heavy air in the room as the three ducks sat silently, letting memories consume them. Grin was not sure if he had spoken aloud some of his memories or not, but his sensei had once told him that meditation can mentally link ducks together, especially if it's already from a shared experience.

Wildwing and Nosedive both seemed to recognize the pause and opened their eyes, Nosedive looking slightly surprised at seeing his brother sitting next to him.

"Whoa, moonlighting as a ninja?" the teenager covered his startlement with humor.

Wildwing smirked at Nosedive and nudged him with his shoulder, but did not respond to the comment. He let out a short sigh as he took in his surroundings, his legs bent up and his arms resting on his knees.

"I just can't believe it's already been a revolution," Wildwing stated quietly, referring to the anniversary of their final battle. "It feels like we were in that Raptor last week."

Nosedive's brows lifted slightly in acknowledgment to the statement, his eyes looking back at Grin as his mood sobered. "It was one hell of a ride, that's for sure."

Grin looked at both brothers carefully in the silence that followed. "Memories and feelings are connected; both must be remembered," he finally stated to them, remaining still in his cross-legged position and keeping his hands resting lightly on the tops of his thighs.

The warning in the simple sentence did not go unnoticed, and neither brother answered right away. Nosedive's eyes were downcast, but Wildwing took a deep breath and nodded to the pacifist. "It's okay, Grin. It's important that I—we—remember."

As if in answer to his own response, Wildwing crossed his legs again and copied Grin's positioning, closing his eyes and returning himself into a meditative stance.

Nosedive had looked up and poignantly stared at his brother when he spoke. He sighed heavily as he watched him for a moment, then returned his gaze back to Grin. He nodded silently to the large gray duck, also shifting so that his legs were crossed beneath him.

Grin took a long, deep breath and closed his eyes, the iconic day taking over once more.

* * *

_1 Revolution Ago_

Finding the command room had not taken long after the hallway explosion. Grin had surmised that it was the henchmen's last hoorah to protect their leader, though looking back it seemed as though they may have just been biding time.

Whatever their reasoning, the command room had laid beyond two closed, albeit dry, corridors.

/ / /

The door inside was only partially open, as if the mechanism itself was defunct. Wildwing scanned the room from the outside and released a low growl. "He's in there, all right." The leader marched forward to enter but was stopped by a hand on his arm.

"Wait, Wing," Duke said quietly. "I t'ink it's pretty obvious dis is a trap."

The leader stared at Duke for a moment but stepped down, his team watching him intently.

Taking a moment to consider their options, Wildwing stated, "Siege, Wraith, and Chameleon are gone. His resources are limited down here. If he has anything planned, it's likely to be a last-ditched effort to take us out with him."

Mallory nodded in agreement at the leader. "We need to immobilize him as quickly as possible."

"We go in, encircle him, and act quickly," Wildwing finished.

"And avoid damaging the, uh, command station!" Tanya added hastily. When the group looked at her she added, "Unless, y'know, you—uh—want to stay on Earth forever."

\ \ \

The whole point of this mission had been hanging in the balance. Inside the command room had been the last Saurian Overlord, the bane of their existence for over two years: one revolution on Puckworld in the throes of a horrendous war, and one Earth year fighting the crazed lizard and his attempts to either take over this galaxy or return home to theirs.

At the time, Dragaunus no longer had the power to generate a Dimensional Gateway large enough to return to Puckworld. They had made sure of that a few weeks before their underwater venture, when he had acquired beryllium crystals from the City of Atlantis. With one strategic shot, the Raptor's Dimensional Gateway generator had been destroyed, along with all the crystals that had been stolen from the city.

Of course, they had also believed that they destroyed their only way home.

When the Raptor remained seemingly trapped upon the ocean floor and the ducks had borrowed a submarine to investigate, Wildwing's Mask had made the remarkable discovery that the command station was still online.

So what Dragaunus lacked in power, he made up for in coordinates. Inside the Raptor's mainframe housed the coordinates to thousands of galaxies, Puckworld included. It was how he brought Lucretia DeCoy and Falcone to Earth, and how he had sent five of their team of six to an alternate dimension of Anaheim, ruled by warlocks and, at one point, Asteroth.

Falcone, imprisoned somewhere deep within the grounds of Great Britain in a high-security prison built just for him, had recently offered the ducks coordinates to Puckworld via a small remote he had been provided by Dragaunus. He had hidden it before being captured, according to the notorious thief.

Duke had gone to the country to interrogate the Raptrin, and to determine if Falcone was indeed telling the truth. Grin had felt a heavy weight upon Duke's return, something the ex-thief was hiding from the rest of the team. But Duke had simply told everyone that Falcone was not lying—he had the remote somewhere, and the way home if they could find another power source to generate a Dimensional Gateway.

As Tanya had put it, however, he was plan B. If she could retrieve the schematics of how Dragaunus built his Dimensional Gateway—along with the coordinates to Puckworld—from the Raptor's log files, their trip home would be a lot sooner.

Which was also why they just didn't blow the ship out of the ocean, as Nosedive had so eloquently put it.

/ / /

Weapons loaded and at the ready, Wildwing scanned the room again to ensure Dragaunus' whereabouts inside before quickly entering through the partially open doorway. The ducks filed through one-by-one, each going a different direction once inside.

Grin was last, and as he squeezed through the opening he saw Wildwing and Duke near the other side of the room, weapons aimed at the Saurian Overlord himself.

He was at the command station, hands poised and waiting.

Grin realized too late that the Saurian had been looking at him. He quickly turned around but could not grab ahold of the door before it effortlessly slid closed, locking the ducks inside. He growled and turned back around, realizing the other ducks did not notice the svelte movement.

"Give it up, Dragaunus! It's over!" Wildwing's voice was gruffer than usual, the anger nearly palpable from all of their previous encounters.

"Of course it's over, you fool," Dragaunus replied. "You've destroyed our way home, my henchmen, and—oh yes—my ship." He held up his hand to show a remote in his possession. "But, as I'm sure your small brains have deduced, I will not go down that easily."

A loud groan from the ship was heard, and the ducks looked over to another corridor on the east side of the room. The doors creaked open a crack, allowing ocean water to perforate through at an alarming rate.

Wildwing, Nosedive, and Duke cornered the Saurian just as he took a step back from the command station and became invisible. Wildwing instantly used the Mask to find Dragaunus and tackled him, Duke and Nosedive attempting to help the best they could, considering they could no longer see the Overlord.

Tanya took the opportunity to get to the command station. Grin turned and was about to break down their exit when a handful of drones, hidden on the other side of the room, began shooting at him. He rolled out of the way of their laser fire, Mallory running up to him and firing back at the machines to give him cover.

"Get to Tanya!" Mallory yelled, distracting the drones with her own potshots. Grin nodded, running up to Tanya to guard her while she worked.

"Dammit, he's locked up the system," Tanya growled as Grin reached her position. A laser shot hit the base of the station, causing Tanya to jump out of reflex. Grin turned and saw the approaching stray drone, arm out and locked on the blonde duck for its next target. Within seconds Grin bulldozed the robot, its second laser shot hitting the ceiling instead as Grin grabbed it. He quickly smashed its head into the ground, disabling it in a fit of electrical sparks exaggerated by the rising water.

The flooded bay next door was barely contained, and the small opening Dragaunus had created at the entranceway had weakened the doorway's stability even more. The water was gushing out in a deluge and was covering the tops of their shoes, now.

A stray shout caused Grin to turn around as he got up off the floor. Mallory had been fighting a pack of three drones, and one had managed to hit her in the same side she'd been hit earlier by Chameleon. The blow had knocked her off her feet, sending her sliding into a nearby wall. The repeat hit was enough to slow her recovery, and the drones were nearly upon her.

Grin bolted forward but stopped when he saw Duke jump in front of Mallory, slicing through the last remaining drones.

As he watched, he felt like time had slowed down.

\ \ \

The next moments were heavily etched in Grin's mind, and ended up replaying in the same slow motion he remembered it in from that fateful day. Every action had occurred in tandem, Grin merely watching it all unfold from the center of the room, frozen in place and unable to react.

/ / /

Tanya successfully got into the system and opened their exit door, simultaneously closing the door to the flooded room.

Duke helped Mallory off of the floor, the redhead holding the side of her ribs.

Wildwing, with the Mask's eyes glowing red, was holding an invisible Dragaunus, presumably in a deadlock as the leader was struggling to maintain position.

Nosedive had managed to find what looked like Dragaunus' arm, and was attempting to retrieve the remote in his claws. Wildwing must have lost his grip slightly, as Dragaunus suddenly had the ability to pull back his arm and swing it out, striking Nosedive.

The teenager fell to the floor with a splash and rolled a few feet.

The distraction allowed Wildwing to grab at—and successfully retrieve—the remote, because as soon as it was out of Dragaunus' hands it became visible.

Grin saw the remote. It was not the controller for the Saurian's invisibility cloak. This one blinked red.

It began to blink faster.

Dragaunus, still unseen, began laughing.

Realization dawned between all parties at once.

Grin took a running step towards them—

Nosedive yelled out his brother's name—

Wildwing let go of Dragaunus and brought his arm up, barely shielding his face—

And a blinding white light erupted, a shockwave strong enough to be felt as Grin shielded his own face from the heat.

"NO!"

Grin's eyes adjusted to the haze that now enveloped the room. The explosion was not large—more or less what Grin remembered from Siege's own takeout—but in this small command room it had a more devastating impact.

…In more ways than one.

Grin ran forward, the smoke dissipating enough to see Nosedive hovering over a prone Wildwing. Mallory and Duke had made their way over as well, both kneeling next to the teenager.

Tanya ran up next to Grin, her expression panicked.

"I can't turn this stupid thing off!" Nosedive cried out, fighting with Wildwing's shield. The leader must have been able to turn it on in the milliseconds before the bomb went off, though whether or not it had materialized enough to protect Wildwing was unknown.

It must have taken some of the impact, though: it was heavily damaged, blinking in and out and sparking occasionally.

"Here," Tanya said and ran up to assist them, reaching for Wildwing's arm compartment where the mechanics for the force shield resided.

"We need to stop the bleeding," Mallory commanded, her voice stern and unemotional. Grin could hear the military persona in it from her years of training.

He wondered how much first aid training she had been taught formally, and how much had come from unfortunate experience.

As Grin stepped forward again, Mallory had removed her belt and was wrapping it around Wildwing's upper arm. At Grin's height, his step forward allowed him to peer over Nosedive and finally see the extent of their leader's injuries.

\ \ \

Present Grin frowned at the image that had been burned into his mind.

/ / /

The arm Mallory was tending to was the same one Tanya was working on to turn off the shield. What the shield had not protected could be easily seen, as the clothing, feathers, and a good portion of skin had been torn to shreds. The shoulder pad on that arm was completely gone, with his upper arm to his elbow completely exposed to the muscle. Mallory was using her belt to create a tourniquet above it to try and stem blood loss.

Much of his torso, below the chest plate, had also been wreaked the same havoc.

"Wing, can you hear me?" Nosedive asked desperately, the raw emotion straining his voice. Any sign of his normal humor was nonexistent.

With a loud spark Tanya successfully turned off the shield, allowing the arm to rest fully on the ground. Mallory tightened the belt on that limb and bent down near Wildwing's face. Despite her cool demeanor, Grin saw her hands shake as she grasped the edges of the Mask and pulled it off.

The Mask sparked slightly, some of its inner workings visible from its own damage received from the blast. Thankfully, between the shield, Wildwing's forearm armor, and the Mask, Wildwing's face had been completely protected from the heat of the explosion.

With the Mask successfully removed, Mallory placed it on the ground and turned her head to listen to Wildwing's breathing. Two of her fingers went to Wildwing's neck, checking his pulse. Quiet moments ticked by and she frowned, watching his chest as the side of her head remained close to his beak.

"His breathing is erratic, and his heartbeat is rapid—" Mallory glanced up at Tanya. "We gotta get him to the Aerowing."

"What does that mean? Is he okay?" Nosedive questioned quickly, alarmed.

Tanya nodded to Mallory, ignoring Nosedive. She turned back and looked to Grin. Without words, Grin quickly closed the gap and gently pushed aside Nosedive, who seemed to be in shock as he stared at his brother.

"Wait, what's wrong with him?!" Nosedive yelled, fighting to get back into place over his big brother.

Duke reached over and pulled the young duck back. "Dive, we need to get him medical treatment, let Grin pick him up."

Nosedive was still fighting Duke's hold, but without much effort. The older duck's words seemed to resonate, however, because eventually the blonde duck stopped completely and let Duke help him back into a standing position.

Grin carefully got his arms under Wildwing, first making sure to drape the white drake's damaged arm gently over his chest. When he gripped the captain he also kept his hands strategically placed to prevent any more damage to Wildwing's side.

As if on cue, the ship lurched as Grin stood up, sending the large duck stumbling. With a quick, well-planted step he was able to remain upright, Wildwing still in his arms.

His teammates did not.

There was a course of expletives and yelps as the team fell to the ground with respective splashes, the water from the room next door still sloshing across the floor. As Tanya scrambled back into a standing position, she grabbed at the Mask as it slid across her path.

More groans from the ship, followed by a loud crunch, echoed in the command chamber. As the rest of the team stood up, they eyed the source of the noise.

The Raptor's front window, cracked from the crash, now had even more spider veins of cracks across its surface.

Dragaunus' blast had sent debris into it, further weakening its stability.

Another crunching sound erupted, and the spider web of cracks increased twofold.

Words were not needed. The team swiftly began making their way to the exit, Mallory in the lead, followed by Grin with Wildwing and Nosedive at his side. Duke and Tanya were behind them.

They made it through the exit and down the corridor before Grin heard Duke yell, "Tanya!"

He stopped and turned around, seeing the blonde duck run back to the door to the command room. Mallory and Nosedive also stopped, watching. Duke followed after the blonde scientist, looking ready to drag her away.

She quickly shooed him off and brought her Omnitool out, linking it to the control box next to the open door.

**_CRASH!_**

Grin saw only a glimpse of the front window give way before the door hissed shut. Duke grabbed Tanya's arm, pulling her back down the corridor towards the others.

Grin resumed running, choosing to not look back when he heard the explosion of water against the now-shut door.

While the barrier would not hold out long against the ocean depths pushing against it, it did give them the time they needed for a head start.

Retracing their steps, Grin followed Mallory through a maze of corridors, the open doorways the only indication that they had traversed these areas. Most of the closed rooms they passed seemed to be bursting at the seams with leaking water, giving even more urgency to their escape.

They passed the room with Siege, and two hallways later Mallory rounded a corner, turning into the Raptor's airlock. With a quick code entry she opened the access to their own ship, and within a minute the team had closed the hatch and disembarked the Navy's vessel from the broken Saurian ship.

As Duke navigated their way back to the surface, Tanya ushered Grin to place Wildwing on a pullout cot in an adjacent room. With Nosedive hovering nearby, both Tanya and Mallory began scouring the drawers and shelves for medical supplies as Grin and Nosedive watched on.

Loaded with bandages, Mallory returned to Wildwing's prone body and quickly began wrapping his torso to help quell the bleeding. Tanya turned the nozzle to open the valve for a nearby oxygen tank and took the connected customized mask to place over Wildwing's beak.

Nosedive smartly stayed out of their way, but had his arms crossed with a hand under his bill, nervously watching. Grin laid a comforting hand on his shoulder, which he acknowledged briefly, albeit gratefully.

As Mallory continued to wrap Wildwing's arm and side the best she could, Tanya unlatched what remained of the leader's chest armor and pulled it apart. Grin came forward and held Wildwing's prone form up so she could pull the backside of the chestplate away. Tossing both pieces to the ground, she then cut the white drake's green shirt on his chest away, placing custom electrodes near his heart for monitoring. A separate sensor was placed on his finger to monitor his oxygen.

While these were human medical devices, Tanya had done her best to modify them and account for the ducks' own anatomy. It had worked, but it was much more primitive than what the ducks were used to back home.

Mallory knew basic first aid from her stint in the military, and Tanya knew some medical knowledge from her background in science. But without a doctor on the team, they were at the mercy of the Medicom back home for guidance and treatment.

Grin watched a nearby monitor flicker to life as Tanya connected the wires from the electrodes attached to Wildwing's chest. Within a few seconds the telltale beeps and rhythms of the heart could be seen, showing a higher than normal rate for the white drake.

However, the deliverance of oxygen to Wildwing seemed to be stabilizing him. Grin could see the oxygen percentage slowly increase, and as it did the heartbeat slowed down to a more normal rhythm.

"TEN MINUTES TA SURFACE!" Duke's voice hollered from the navigation chamber.

Nosedive took a hesitant step forward, glancing at Tanya and Mallory as they completed their tasks. "Why … why isn't he waking up?" he cautiously asked.

Tanya sighed, shaking her head. "It could be, uh, lots of things. The Mask p-protected his face, but that doesn't mean he didn't, y'know, get hit in the head. And his side is really beat up, he may—uh—may have had quite a bit of blood loss." Tanya saw the dismay etched on the blonde duck's features, causing her to swallow hard from her abrupt answer. "We'll know more once, uh, we get him into the Medicom," she added softly.

Nosedive's hand found his brother's, and he simply nodded to Tanya's last comment. Mallory stood nearby with her arms tightly crossed in front of her, and Tanya kept a hand on the monitor, occasionally glancing at it but no longer adjusting any of the treatment they'd given Wildwing thus far.

Aside from the groans of the large submarine as the pressure decreased around it, the only sound was the reassuring beeps of their leader's heartrate.


	2. Truth

Note: A reiteration that / / / leads into a flashback and \ \ \ out of one, and line breaks are used for heavier scene shifts. I've got meta-style flashbacks in this chapter, which was not my intent, but this story sort of wrote itself, so apologies in advance if it flows weird. Also, since this follows my crazy universe of stories, there is literally one sentence mentioning M/W, but the rest can be totally ignored and chalked up to generalized worry if that ain't your cup o' tea!

* * *

_1 Revolution Ago_

If the trip back to the surface had felt long in the submarine, then the transfer to the Aerowing had felt like an eon. Upon disembarking at Port Hueneme in Ventura, the ducks had been accosted by military personnel regarding the mission, as well as insistence from their medical staff to treat Wildwing's injuries on the naval base.

To make the transition quicker, Duke had agreed to stay back and provide a report, while the ducks loaded Wildwing onto a built-in cot within the Aerowing. In the interim, the medical staff were provided strong and reiterated assurances from Tanya that the ducks' technology would heal Wildwing better than any medical expert on Earth.

A little less than an hour after they had escaped the dying Raptor, the ducks had returned to their home in Anaheim. Grin had been tasked with wheeling Wildwing on a stretcher into the infirmary, various tubes and electrodes still attached to the white drake and partially dangling off the side of his mobile bed.

/ / /

As Tanya began prepping the Medicom, Grin lifted Wildwing and placed him on the contraption's built-in bed, being as careful as possible to not cause further damage to the leader's side.

The Medicom lit up and the large circular rotator began to turn, a purple light emanating from it and scanning the prone duck. The four other team members stood by silently, waiting.

"Blood. We, uh, we need Wildwing's blood now!" Tanya yelled out as she read the initial results.

Grin quickly went to the walk-in cooler on the other side of the infirmary, which was utilized for medical supplies as well as reagents for Tanya's lab next door. He entered the small chamber and searched the shelves.

\ \ \

When the Mighty Ducks had first come to Earth, Tanya took the time to research human anatomy and their subsequent medical technology. While ducks' anatomies were somewhat similar to a human's, blood types were not. Tanya had then ordered all ducks to "donate" blood to themselves monthly, should the need ever arise for a transfusion.

This had been the first time any of them needed blood. Grin imagined that Wildwing would have thanked Tanya for her diligence in making sure they kept up their emergency rations, if it had been anyone else in the leader's situation.

/ / /

Grin found the bag of blood with Wildwing's information on it and hurriedly returned to the others. Upon delivery, Grin noticed that an IV had already been attached to Wildwing's arm on his good side, thanks to the Medicom's automation. Tanya quickly took the blood from Grin and attached it to the tubing to begin the process of a blood transfusion.

Nosedive had backed himself against the nearby cabinets, watching on anxiously.

"What is his diagnosis?" Grin asked, standing next to the youngest team member.

Tanya was already back at the computer, following up on the commands it was issuing. "Muscle damage on his right side and arm. H-head trauma, too. Three broken ribs, and a—uh, a partially collapsed lung."

"How bad is the head trauma?" Nosedive asked, his voice hoarse.

Tanya shook her head. "It's only seeing swelling at the moment. The, uh, Medicom is going to induce coma until the medications can help decrease infla—flammation. Then it'll, uh, work on the tissue damage."

\ \ \

Grin remembered the small tutorial he received regarding the Medicom when Tanya had built it.

The machine used magnetic fields and nanotechnology to scan and diagnose injuries, and—along with the addition of any blood or medication needed—could assist in the repair of most types of wounds.

It had its limits, of course, but tissue damage was one of its best capabilities: it could eat away the shrapnel or any other residue within the body, repair microscopic blood vessels and arteries, and rebuild the muscle fibers.

But it took time.

/ / /

Tanya continued typing away at the computer, taking breaks to follow the instructions the Medicom provided her. Occasionally she enlisted the help of Mallory or Grin to grab supplies, such as medical bandages, scissors to cut more of Wildwing's uniform away, and a host of medications, including an antibiotic, mannitol, and morphine. By the time they were finished, Wildwing had two IVs hooked up to him and 5 bags of fluids attached to his prone form, along with fresh bandages on his wounds since the nanobots worked from within the body to heal.

The giant rings on the Medicom were rotating slowly, creating a full body magnetic field to allow the nanobots to work on multiple areas at a time. Tanya took a deep breath, turning to look at the other three awake occupants in the room.

"I think that does it. Now all we do is, well, wait."

"I'm staying with him," Nosedive spoke out, coming up to Wildwing's side.

"Dive, you can stay as long as you, uh, need, but you won't be rotating." She looked back at Mallory and Grin. "Let's do 5-hour shifts for now, until we can, uh, know more about his head injury. I'll stay this first time, since there's a lot of minor repairs going on.

"Mallory, can you relieve me at—" Tanya faltered and looked down at her Omnitool, "uh, 22:00?"

The redhead nodded in affirmation. She had her arms crossed in front of her again, but hesitated when she turned to exit. After a pause she walked back to Nosedive and placed a hand on his shoulder.

He looked up at her and she squeezed her hold briefly in a show of support. The teenager did not smile, but instead brought up one of his hands to rest on hers, returning the gesture.

No words were exchanged. After a moment Mallory pulled away, quickly turning and walking out of the infirmary.

"Do either of you require sustenance?" Grin asked, looking towards Tanya and Nosedive.

Nosedive didn't answer, but Tanya did for the both of them: "Sure Grin, that would be, uh, great."

The large gray duck nodded and bowed, exiting the infirmary and heading towards the kitchen. As he left, the room remained silent, albeit for the same _beep … beep … beep_ … of their leader's lifeline.

* * *

Present-day Nosedive took a deep breath, opening his eyes. A stray tear fell from the movement, running down the side of his face.

Wildwing had opened his eyes as well and, noticing Nosedive's expression, put a comforting arm around his little brother's shoulders.

"It's weird seeing it from another perspective," Wildwing gently offered. "It was a blink of an eye to me, from the Raptor to waking up on the Medicom, but for you guys—"

"Thirteen days," Nosedive finished for him. "I almost clobbered Phil when he came down and made a comment about how the timing was great, being the off-season."

Wildwing smirked and shrugged. "Eh, you know Phil. Always the bright side of money."

Nosedive grinned as well, but it sobered as he took a deep breath. "It's funny, the whole time during your coma it was like we had forgotten that we had defeated Dragaunus." He leaned into his brother's hold and added, "I mean, I guess we had already defeated them by sinking their ship and all. But Taunny hadn't been able to get the files she wanted, so it almost felt like it was all … for nothing."

Wildwing shook his head, squeezing his side-hug with Nosedive briefly before releasing their embrace and leaning back on his hands. "Not true. She had been able to transfer a small portion of the Raptor files before the explosion. It wasn't the schematics or the coordinates she wanted, but it had some useful information on how to transfer the beryllium energy to the Raptor's engines. Saved her a few months of work, according to her."

Nosedive rolled his eyes and jokingly looked at his COM. "Yeah, we're celebrating one revolution here, which is like almost one and a half years here on Earth … I'm thinking she may have over-exaggerated."

"Well, ya know, I could rush it and l-let us get dumped in the middle of space, if you want."

Grin had already looked up and seen the new occupant in the room, but both Wildwing and Nosedive jumped at the new voice entering the conversation. They turned around to see Tanya leaning against the open doorframe, a sincere smile on her beak despite her sarcastic comment.

"All right, now it's a party," Nosedive cheekily responded, clapping his hands.

Tanya shook her head and negatively motioned with her arms. "Nuh uh, no—uh—thanks. I just saw the open door and was wondering what was, uh, going on." She took a step forward, looking at all the candles and crystals surrounding the three meditators. "All this to just, y'know … remember?"

"Science is but the proven unknowns," Grin simply stated, closing his eyes once more.

There was a long moment of silence before Nosedive turned to Tanya. "I think you just got burned, Taunny."

Tanya's hands went to her hips good-naturedly. "Yeah, well, science is what's getting us home … eventually." Seeing that Grin had kept his eyes closed, she smiled at the two brothers instead. "I'll leave you guys b-be."

Wildwing and Nosedive waved goodbye to the blonde engineer as she excited the room, once again returning back to their own meditative stances.

* * *

_1 Revolution Ago_

Grin had made his usual stew, hearty with vegetation and his newfound love on Earth: potatoes. He had already delivered two bowls to Tanya and Nosedive—receiving an update on Wildwing's status at the same time, which hadn't changed much—and then delivered a third bowl to Duke, who had recently returned home from the naval base after providing the military a report on the events that had occurred.

With confirmation from Duke that the three main threats were indeed dead, certain high-ranking officials had alluded to possibly further infiltrating the Raptor for its technology. While a majority of it was destroyed from the depths of the ocean, the bureaucrats had hoped to scavenge what they could for research purposes.

Duke had played along and agreed to their unasked request, not entirely sure if their motivation was as pure as they had played it. However, with more pressing matters at hand, he figured it wasn't worth a fight; they could deal with those repercussions when the time came.

/ / /

After parting ways, Grin carried one more bowl with him to the bedroom quarters, traversing the hallway more slowly than usual to keep the thick soup from sloshing over the lip of the bowl. He stopped at Mallory's door and pressed a button on the console, notifying the occupant of his arrival with a loud buzz.

He waited and, when silence greeted him, he buzzed again.

It was unlike her to not answer; she was a light sleeper, and typically would at least say something on the intercom to alert the guest. He contemplated for a moment, remembering their previous encounters that day, and his contemplation turned into concern.

She had been injured by both Chameleon and drones in the Raptor, and she had kept her arms crossed tightly over herself. Perhaps she had hidden the need for medical attention?

In an uncharacteristic move for the pacifist, Grin pressed another button on the console. The door slid effortlessly open, indicating that it had not been locked. A quick look inside, as well as the accompanying restroom and closet, confirmed that the redhead was not in her room. Based off the cleanly made bed and the dark lighting, it was likely that she had not come back to her room since she left the infirmary.

After a long day of battle and the upcoming rotation she had, that seemed unprofessional of Mallory.

Still carrying a hot bowl of stew, Grin exited her room and pressed the same button to shut the door, thinking a moment before heading down the hallway.

* * *

The door squeaked as he opened it, the warm air of the summer night partially masking the cool desert breeze flowing in. Grin took a second to let his eyes adjust to the dusky surroundings, only seeing Mallory when she startled at his arrival.

She had been sitting against a large roof vent, but quickly stood up and approached Grin with determined steps.

"What's up, is everything all right?" she questioned quickly, her voice strained.

Realizing her concerns, Grin shook his head. "There has been no change in status." Mallory visibly exhaled at that remark, her hands coming to her hips briefly and her eyes downcast.

After a moment she looked back up at Grin curiously, to which he motioned to the stew in his hands. "You will need your energy," he simply commented.

"Oh," Mallory stated in surprise. She nonetheless took the bowl that Grin offered with outstretched hands. "Thanks, Grin," she added, holding the warm stew close to her form.

"Eyes cannot hide pain."

"What?" Mallory asked, perplexed.

"Are you injured?" the large gray duck offered bluntly.

Another quizzical look passed across Mallory's features as she stared up at him. "No, why would I be?"

"You were hit by Chameleon and drones."

"Oh," Mallory said again. "No, I'm fine, just a little beat up." When silence filled the air between them, Mallory made the motion of sniffing the food in front of her. "Smells good," she complimented.

Grin nodded, still watching the redhead studiously.

"Why are you not resting?"

Mallory shrugged, her head turning towards the twinkling lights of Anaheim. "I guess I should be," she indirectly answered.

"Perhaps I should take your shift—?"

"No," the petite duck cut him off sharply, shaking her head and returning her attention to the conversation. "I'll be fine," she added with less force.

Grin frowned at her, his stance having barely moved since giving the commando her bowl of stew. It was obvious that something was wrong: she had a heavy aura, one he would not expect of a worried teammate.

"Eyes cannot hide pain," he repeated.

She shook her head again. "No Grin, really—my side is just bruised—" she paused her sentence as she looked up at the pacifist and realized the alternative meaning to his words. She faltered from his intense stare, unable to complete her sentence.

The big duck took a deep breath; not a sigh, but a deep, relaxing inhale and exhale. For the first time, he broke eye contact with Mallory, glancing at the downtown buildings surrounding their stadium.

"We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves."

Mallory followed his gaze to the horizon, releasing her own heavy sigh. Grin turned back towards her, eyeing her sternly.

"But three things cannot long be hidden: the sun, the moon, and the _truth_."

The redhead nearly flinched from his last word, but he did not give her time to respond. He nodded to her as a goodbye before turning around and heading back inside to their headquarters.

He only briefly glanced back as he opened the door to the stairs, and saw that she had fully turned towards the vista again, her eyes distant and her hands still holding the bowl of stew to her chest.

* * *

"Grin, you never told us about that."

The large pacifist frowned as he opened one eye to look at Nosedive. He didn't answer him.

Wildwing also scowled as he opened his eyes. "I didn't even think about that. You guys didn't know about us yet."

"She hid it well in front of us, anyways—" Nosedive started, but looked over at Grin giving him an incredulous look. "Well, I thought so."

"You cannot be aware of what you are unable to see."

Nosedive looked ready to rebuff but paused with his mouth open. "Uh. What?"

Grin shook his head. "Your mind and heart were elsewhere."

"You were worried about me," Wildwing corrected, simplifying the quote down even more. "You weren't going to notice Mallory being worried, too."

"Worried about what?"

This time all three occupants in the room looked up at Duke, who had entered the room unaware. He, like Tanya, stood leaning against the doorframe as he studied the ambiance and three sitting ducks in the middle of the floor.

"Duke, for real, a knock on the wall or something next time, dude. My heart can't take anymore." Nosedive grabbed at his chest facetiously, rolling his eyes back and leaning over in a melodramatic gesture of a heart attack.

"Perhaps it is time to end these memories," Grin admonished, glaring at the young teenager.

To his credit, Nosedive cleared his throat and straightened up pretty quick. He looked back up at Duke. "Care to see the end of this trip down memory lane?"

"And what memory lane is that?"

"Taking out Draggy, of course."

Duke did not move. "Let me get this straight—yer all sitting here quietly in a room meditatin' and seein' the same stuff?"

Nosedive glanced back at Wildwing, who glanced at Grin. Grin, however, simply closed his eyes again, evidently tired of all the interruptions.

"Pretty much," Nosedive finally answered.

Duke did not take the teen's word at face value. He looked to Wildwing for confirmation.

The leader shrugged lightly.

Duke gave a skeptical look at his team members. "I ain't pretending I know anythin' about meditation, but … that seems a bit far-stretched."

"Suit yourself, Dukemeister," Nosedive replied, crossing his legs again when he heard a low but contentious growl from Grin. Wildwing followed suit, and within a few seconds the group had quieted down, returning to the end of a long day one revolution ago.

* * *

_1 Revolution Ago_

Grin had enjoyed a heavy portion of his own stew before showering and slumbering for eight well-needed hours. Despite his lack of injuries, when he awoke his body could feel every over-used muscle with each passive movement, and he couldn't help but let out a groan as he stood up and stretched.

His shift with Wildwing would be after Mallory's, which was in an hour. He took the time to dress and retrieve some breakfast from the mess hall, finding the hallways eerily empty for a group of six living with one another.

But with half of them consistently in the infirmary, their headquarters suddenly seemed much larger and more barren.

A glance at his COM told him it was 3 a.m., which may have also contributed to the lack of commotion in the area. His internal clock was going to be off for a while as long as these shifts continued.

With a silent hiss Grin entered the infirmary, seeing Nosedive with his head in his arms on Wildwing's cot, his body hunched over from the stool he sat on. A blanket had been draped over his shoulders for warmth.

The Medicom hummed quietly as it rotated, still shining an eerie purple light on Wildwing and the surrounding area as it worked.

Their leader remained deathly still on it, his chest barely rising with each slow breath.

Mallory stood on the other side of both brothers, arms crossed over herself as she kept a watchful eye on the computer. She glanced over with tired eyes when Grin entered the room.

"Hey," she whispered, turning slightly as Grin walked up to her.

"Has his status changed?" Grin answered back as quietly as he could. His deep voice made it hard to whisper well.

"Tanya said all the minor injuries are completed, and the Medicom would be focusing on the major tissue damage," Mallory answered him. "His brain swelling hasn't gone down, but it hasn't gotten worse, which Tanya said was a good thing."

Grin nodded in understanding, glancing back to Nosedive to make sure they hadn't disturbed him.

"He's been out for about two hours," the redhead added as she followed Grin's gaze. "If he wakes with you, try and convince him to get some real sleep on his bed."

The large duck hummed quietly. "We may have more success providing a cot for him while he is in here."

Mallory was silent for a moment before agreeing with, "Yeah, you're probably right." She pointed over to the computer. "Tanya said to tell you that you might get some prompts to charge some of the nanobots. If that happens," she walked over to the head of Wildwing's Medicom, "then flip this switch and it'll start the process." She walked back over to the gray duck. "Otherwise, if you see any exclamation points or error messages, COM her."

Grin nodded again in understanding.

Both the pacifist and military member of the team maintained eye contact for a few seconds. Mallory looked ready to say something, but eventually decided against it as she turned away.

With Grin watching on and Nosedive fast asleep, Mallory walked up to Wildwing's prone form. With one hand she squeezed the leader's listless palm, and with her other she brushed back some of the feathers on the top of his head.

She took a deep breath, released her hold, and turned back to Grin. "Let me know if anything changes, okay?"

The large gray duck provided one last head nod in acknowledgment of the request. Mallory nodded back as a thank you and quickly exited the room.

* * *

_Beep … beep … beep…_

"Tanya says I should talk to you. Something about coma and subconscious hearing, or whatever."

_Beep … beep … beep…_

"All right then. Here goes nothing."

A shaky inhale of breath fills the void.

"So get this … I had this wicked dream a couple nights ago."

A metal stool creaks.

"There's this lizard, right? But not Draggy, or a Saurian at all. An _Earth_ lizard. Remember when Taunny made us watch that desert documentary to 'learn about our environment'?"

_Whoosh_, goes a machine.

"Anyway, tiny lizard dude. Okay. So there's this tiny lizard and he's swimming in this pool. Like, the rich-and-famous-type pool, complete with weird cupid statues along the side.

"And it's doing _laps_, like it's an Olympian or something. The water starts getting dark, though, like someone dumped black food coloring in. Steam starts rising up. I'm thinking it's gotta be on fire or something—how can water be on fire, though?—and then the lizard jumps outta the water and becomes a _duck_."

His words echo in the large chamber, but quickly dissipates as he pauses.

"Again, not a duck like us, but an _Earth_ duck. Freakishly long neck, weird football body, brown and orange feathers."

_Beep..._

"But even though the water is on fire, the duck is totally cool. He's chillin' along the rim of the pool, watching but not really interested, and then suddenly waltzes away, turning into … _dun dun dun_ … Canard!"

A hiss from somewhere far off interrupts.

"He's younger, and I'm wondering if this is some weird Benjamin Button thing—crazy Earth movie where the kid ages _backwards _(and I'm going to make you watch it someday)—which, come to think of it, you probably can't say age; maybe de-age? Whatever. _Any_ways, Canard is young and I'm realizing the fancy fire pool is gone and it's _North Met High_—ha!"

"You went to North Met High?" a voice interjects curiously, a hint of disbelief edging into the tone.

"_Yes_, we did, thankyouverymuch. But it's Canard, and we're in high school again, and there you are, in your ridiculous hockey getup—"

"Bright orange an' green?" snickers the same voice.

"_Look_, Duke, I'm _trying _to tell a story here."

"I know, I know, but—sorry—the thought of you's wearin' those neon colors at dat preppy school—"

There is a rather indignant harrumph. "I'm sorry that not ALL of us grew up in the gritty desolation of downtown, with the black and purple grumps of Main Metro."

"'ey, I'll have ya know, I went ta Southeast High. And it was _ten_ times worse."

"Right. Let me guess, they made a monument of you, bein' a relic from the most ancient school in Metropolis an' all."

"I'm wounded, Dive. Really."

"I attended Southeast," a different, deep voice speaks from somewhere far off.

There is a long pause.

"Sorry Grin, but that totally makes sense."

"Yeah, I see dhat."

* * *

"Whoa whoa whoa, time out!"

Grin growled as he opened his eyes to look at Nosedive, who had also placed his hands in the shape of a _T_ for emphasis. Wildwing looked pretty confused as well, though, and Grin's growl faded into a more respectable grumble.

"I'm not getting reception."

Wildwing agreed. "Yeah, I'm hearing the words, but I'm not seeing the … uh, pictures, if that makes sense?"

Grin nodded knowingly. "Indeed."

Both brothers looked at one another. Nosedive finally arched an eyebrow. "Sorry, am I missing something here? Why aren't we seeing anything?"

Grin didn't answer, but instead turned his gaze to Wildwing. The leader held his stare for a few seconds wonderingly, before his eyes opened wide in realization.

"These are … _my_ memories we're seeing?" Wildwing asked incredulously.

"But _how_? Wing was in a coma," Nosedive pitched in.

"And I don't remember any of this," Wildwing added. "I mean, how could I have been listening if I don't remember?"

"The subconscious does not always sleep," Grin answered simply.

"Oh," Wildwing hesitantly said.

"Yeah, that's kind of creepy, but all right," Nosedive concluded.

"I didn't realize we could see, you know, _our_ memories, too," Wildwing mused and glanced at his brother. "I thought you had to be skilled in meditation for that to happen."

Grin shook his head as he closed his eyes once more. "You do. Your memories are strong in this moment in time."

"But I—"

"_Sub_conscious," the pacifist reiterated. "Let us return to my observations, as it is unlikely we will be able to return to yours now that we've been interrupted," he explained in a tone that clearly ended the discussion.

There was a collective hitch in words, followed by partial sighs and silence.

* * *

_1 Revolution Ago_

The mental imagery returned, showing Nosedive sitting next to a prone Wildwing in the infirmary. Duke stood nearby with his arms crossed, having just entered the medbay for his shift and to relieve Grin. The large pacifist was sitting near the head of the Medicom, on a stool next to the computers.

The purple hue of the Medicom's magnetic field still irradiated the room, with its silent mechanical movements almost a white noise to the large chamber.

Nosedive was grinning at Duke and straightened up in his seat. "All right you gangstas, get over it. Us Flashblades and Thunderbeaks were living high 'n' mighty as North Met royalty. And it was hockey tryout day."

"What's special 'bout dhat?"

"Ah, Dukemeister, you might wanna grab some popcorn. This was the day that I nearly destroyed Wing and Canard's friendship."

"Say what now?"

"Yup, yours truly almost ruined this timeline, and all because of hockey tryouts."

Duke's eye ridge raised curiously. "Is d'is why you and Canard were down each other's throats when we all met?"

Nosedive nodded. "Oh yeah. Granted, Canard had always been annoyed by me, but this infamous day basically made him hate the snot out of me."

Duke closed the distance, opting to lean against the table holding the computers that were running the Medicom. "_This_ I've got ta hear."

Nosedive, in full story-mode, was grinning despite the subject matter. "Okay, so it was Wing and Canard's final year of high school, and my first. Obviously, I was gung-ho to be one of the wingers for the team, as _svelte_ and _agile_ as I am—"

Both Duke and Grin rolled their eyes.

"—but Canard was captain, and as the center he was pretty much set against me from the get go."

/ / /

"All right candidates, listen up."

The young group of ducks, Nosedive included, skated up to Canard, the school hockey rink echoing the slicing of their skates against the icy floor. The arena was empty, sans a group of six sitting among the bleachers closest to the player's bench.

They were the other junior and senior players of the hockey team, and also happened to be the judges to the group trying out for positions.

"We've shown them Up and Over. It's time to practice the Wheel." Canard paused and glanced to one of the ducks. "Ross, let's have you be LW. Shave, you're RW. D1 will be Gunner, and Dive, you'll be D2."

"I've been D2 through all these plays," Nosedive piped up in objection.

"And you'll stay D2 until I tell you otherwise," Canard snapped at him. "The judges are looking at all of you, so if you do the plays right and do them well, they'll take you into consideration."

"Yeah, but—"

"Can it, Dive, or you're out!"

Nosedive snapped his beak shut, but glared at the captain.

Canard glared right back momentarily, but pushed whatever he planned to say aside and returned his attention to the team. "All right, for the Wheel, Gunner skates around the net, Dive protecting him. Shave and I will be your best passes, but Ross will come in strong in case we're blocked.

"If the pass is to me, it'll go to Ross to score."

The other three players nodded in understanding, while Nosedive opted to roll his eyes. Canard ignored him and held out his hand for team stack. The other candidates placed their hand on top of his and, after only a moment's hesitation, Nosedive did as well.

"Fret the best; go North Met!" they cheered, collectively raising their stacked hands and breaking apart to start the play.

Nosedive skated into position, glancing farther down to see Wildwing as goalie for the opposing team. He was not a part of the judging panel this year, but was assisting in the tryout process.

He noticed Nosedive's gaze and gave his brother a thumbs up, or as close as one could accomplish when wearing a giant goalie glove.

Nosedive returned the gesture, despite his mood, and bent low for the faceoff. A referee on the ice dropped the puck between Canard and the opposing team's center, starting the play.

Canard got a hold of the puck and—after a few sharp dodges—passed the puck to Gunner, who proceeded to skirt around Wildwing's net.

Nosedive followed suit with a wide skating stance, protecting Gunner from the other opposing players. Gunner nodded to Nosedive and made the full u-turn, but right by the net he tripped, sending the puck skirting wide.

Canard was closing the distance, but Nosedive was closer (and in his opinion, faster). He stole the puck back before anyone else got to it, deftly skated back around, and saw Ross wide open.

That was Canard's instructions, right? If the others were blocked, pass it to Ross to score.

Everyone else had gotten a chance to score except Nosedive, and yet—according to Canard—he just needed to play by the rules to get on the team.

Wildwing was hunched down and ready to block, but had his hips turned toward Ross. He could see what play they were doing and already knew what to expect.

Nosedive made his decision without hesitation. He sped up and aimed towards Ross, who was prepping for the shot. Then, at the last possible second, he braked hard and turned, his skates shooting up a flurry of snow. In a blink he performed a slapshot, sending the puck low and left.

Wildwing dived and missed. The buzzer sounded, signifying a goal.

"YES!" Nosedive hollered, arms up in the air. Everyone had already gotten a chance to score, sure, but Nosedive was the only one that had successfully gotten a point—and against the best goalie in the district, too!

Wildwing smiled and shook his head. "Nice, Baby Bro, I didn't see that play coming at all."

"That's because that wasn't the play we planned," Canard snarled, skating up to Nosedive and whacking the helmet on his head. "What part of passing don't you understand, Nosedive?!"

Nosedive's helmet popped off from the hit, but he caught it and smacked Canard's hand away. "Hey! Chill, dude! Gunner blew a tire and I could tell Wing already knew the play. The whole point of the game is to score, right?"

"The whole point of _tryouts_ is to show you can follow the plays and be a team player, not be some narcissistic show-off!" Canard shoved Nosedive against the chest, causing the teenager to involuntarily skate backwards on the ice.

Nosedive quickly braked with his skates and shoved right back. "Look who's talking, Captain Bruised Ego!"

"Hey, knock it off!" Wildwing yelled, skating up between the two before it became a full-on brawl. "Let's take ten to regroup, all right?"

Canard did not answer, but gave Wildwing a menacing glare before turning and heading back to the player's bench. The goalie watched him for a moment before turning his attention back to Nosedive. "Bro, just … try and follow the plays, okay?"

Nosedive rolled his eyes and sighed. "Sure, Wing. Wanna tell your best bud over there to give me a winger position once in a while?"

Surprisingly, Wildwing nodded. "Sure, yeah. I'll talk to him and make sure everyone gets a chance at each position, all right?"

The built-up anger and adrenaline deflated with his brother's words, as it usually did. Nosedive grinned and playfully punched his brother's shoulder. "Didn't think a newbie could get one past you, did ya?"

Wildwing laughed. "Yeah, yeah, soak it up Dive. It ain't happening again!"

\ \ \

A loud beeping came from the computer, interrupting Nosedive's tale. Grin shot up out of his stool and quickly leaned over the table to read the information on the monitor.

Nosedive glanced warily at Wildwing's prone form and back to Grin. "What's going on?"

Grin shook his head as Duke walked up to the monitor, as well. "The EEG is issuing a warning, but I do not understand why."

"Wing!"

Grin and Duke turned around at Nosedive's shout. Wildwing, still atop the Medicom's gurney, had begun to uncontrollably shake, his arms and legs jerking wildly beneath the machine's bracings.

Nosedive's stool clattered to the floor as he jumped up, his hands coming to rest on Wildwing's chest. "What's happening?!"

Grin hurriedly looked back at the computer while Duke opened his COM. He scanned the words, trying to filter through the medical terms he was unfamiliar with. One word finally stood out. "Seizure!" he stated, watching as multiple pop-ups suddenly appeared on the screen.

"Tanya, we got an emergency!" Grin heard Duke yell into his communication device.

The Medicom was alarming now, as Wildwing's vitals were changing drastically. Directions popped up demanding a medication, but Grin was unfamiliar with the name. Regardless, he memorized the word and bolted over to the medication cabinet, searching.

The braces on the Medicom suddenly opened up, freeing Wildwing's limbs and allowing his convulsing body to nearly slip off the gurney. Nosedive yelled and both he and Duke scrambled next to their leader to prevent him from falling.

"Why did it release?!"

"I don't know!"

"Grin!"

Another _whoosh _was barely heard among the commotion. Grin glanced back up from his frantic searching and saw a disheveled Tanya sprint up to the computer, reading the information.

"Don't hold him down!" she hollered, turning around to reach up and pull Duke back.

"What? But—"

"Make sure he doesn't fall off the gurney, but don't restrain him—you could, uh, cause m-more damage!"

Bewildered, Duke simply nodded, and both he and Nosedive stepped back, arms out in case Wildwing's convulsing began to tilt him one way or the other. Tanya turned and ran back to Grin.

"I am looking for—"

"Lorazepam's in the, uh, fridge," Tanya cut him off, running towards the walk-in cooler and entering. She hastily pulled a vial off one of the many shelves, slamming her hand on a button on the way out to shut the door as she ran back to the Medicom, Grin trailing close behind her.

Tanya grabbed a syringe and needle from a cart next to the Medicom, connecting them together before using it to pull the liquid out of the small vial of medication.

"Hold his arm s-steady," she instructed Nosedive, her voice strained and almost completely lacking its usual stutter.

The teenager obliged, grabbing Wildwing's forearm to steady it. Tanya then unscrewed the needle and quickly twisted the barrel of the syringe onto a small port attached to Wildwing's IV. She depressed the syringe, pushing the medication through the catheter and into the leader's bloodstream.

"All right, keep h-him on the bed," she said, unscrewing the empty syringe and hurrying back to the monitor. She began clicking through the warning windows that had popped up, mumbling to herself as she read the information and clicked away. As she worked, the familiar machine hums began to return, signaling the restarting of the Medicom's magnetic field.

Grin came up next to Nosedive, watching the younger duck stare helplessly at his brother, arms out in case he fell. Wildwing's seizure had been ongoing for a couple minutes at this point, based off the clock, but finally seemed to be ending as the medication kicked in.

The prone duck's jerky movements slowed over a few, long seconds, before altogether stopping. The alarm on the Medicom silenced, and a quick glance at the vitals monitor showed a return to baseline.

Tanya let out a shaky breath, the adrenaline still coursing through her system. "O-okay, the se-seizure's under control."

"Tanya, _why _did that happen?" Duke asked, his own voice tense.

The engineer shook her head as she walked up and stood next to him. "The Medicom says, uh, that there was bl-bleeding in his brain."

"_What_?" Nosedive squeaked.

"That w-was expected, and w-what the swelling h-had hidden," Tanya explained. "It's un-under control now, but the Medicom has added a, uh, routine an-anticonvul-convulsant to his regimen to prevent it from ha-happening again."

A small beep echoed from the computer, causing all awake occupants in the room to involuntarily jolt in fear. The female member of the team turned back and let out another shaky breath. "It just, uh, wants us to re-strap him."

Duke stepped forward, snapping the bracings around Wildwing's right arm and leg. Grin followed suit and strapped the leader's other half to the gurney. Nosedive stayed put next to his brother and the pacifist, both of his hands gripping the edge of the cot almost desperately.

"Nosedive?" Grin cautiously asked, his head tilted down to try and see the younger duck's expression.

The blonde hair of the teenager masked his face as he tilted his head lower, but the sob that escaped was as plain as day. Grin's brow furrowed and he gently placed a hand on Nosedive's shoulder.

"I—I can't…" Nosedive quietly spoke, his voice hoarse with raw emotion.

"Cannot what?" Grin asked.

"I can't _lose_ him," he finished, his last word ending in a complete breakdown. The young duck began crying openly, then, his entire body slowly kneeling to the floor and his hands still hanging onto the edge of the gurney. Grin kneeled down with him and, with a gentle pull of his hand, brought Nosedive to his chest for a hug.

The younger duck fell into him, his arms finally letting go and listlessly laying in his lap as he broke down.

"I can't," Nosedive said again between hiccupping breaths, "I can't."

Grin let the youngest member of the team cry, glancing back up to see Tanya wiping her eyes and Duke standing next to her, one of his arms wrapped across her shoulders. They watched on silently, with only the familiar machine sounds filling the void between Nosedive's broken wails.

As much as he wanted to reassure the teenager, Grin could not do so in good faith. They all knew of death, of despair, and of grief. They all had experienced it.

A quote from his readings of Buddhism surfaced to memory. He hesitated on speaking it, but finally stated, "Neither fire nor wind, birth nor death can erase our good deeds."

He paused, doing his best to comfort his young friend, before quietly adding, "Wildwing cannot be lost."

And in that, even in death, Grin was certain.


	3. Sacrifice

Note: This chapter does make mention of the short story "Duke" from "Through Their Eyes", but it is not really a necessary read to get the gist of what's going on. Also, a final reminder that / / / leads you into a flashback, \ \ \ out of one, and line breaks are used for scene changes.

And a reiterated thank you to raphlover2012 and ThickerThanLove! Super appreciated. :)

* * *

There is something to be said about normalcy. You tire of it, forget about it, and sometimes even abandon it when it hangs around too long. But, every so often the world falls apart, and you wonder how you ever got by without it. It is a semblance of peace and the anchor to continuity, and you do everything in your power to return to it.

When it finally does, you think you won't take it for granted anymore; that you've learned your lesson. Eventually, the world continues on, as it always does, and the monotony settles in once more. With it, however, the inevitable daydreaming of change creeps into your thoughts, any and all negative consequences forgotten once again…

* * *

"Hey, you okay, Baby Bro?"

Nosedive quickly wiped at his eyes, smiling through the action and nodding vigorously. "Yeah, yeah, just uh … that was sorta my Academy Award moment there." The teenager's voice was raspy as he tried to instill some humor into the situation, and Wildwing in turn hugged him to his side again.

"I'm sorry for putting you through that."

Nosedive's minor sniffling turned into a breathy laugh against Wildwing's shoulder. "Bro, dude, are you seriously apologizing for nearly dying?"

"Well … yes."

"Drake DuCaine, we need to get off this planet so you can go home and become a normal duck again."

Wildwing huffed, but smiled through it. "It was easy for me. All I did was sleep."

This time both Grin and Nosedive stared at Wildwing incredulously. "You had to do like six weeks of physical therapy after you woke up," Nosedive reminded him.

"Piece of cake."

The teenager looked over to Grin for help. The pacifist shook his head, barely stopping himself before he actually tsked at the leader. "Without health, life is not life," he agreed instead, using a quote from his readings. When the two brothers stared at him blankly, Grin sighed and changed the subject with, "These memories are almost complete, my friends."

This caused their collective expressions to morph into confusion. Nosedive was first, however, when he asked, "What about when Wing finally woke up?"

"That was not one revolution ago."

The teenager arched an eyebrow. "T minus twelve days and that doesn't count? But, I mean, we didn't know Wing was gonna be okay until the end of that week."

Wildwing, listening intently, tilted his head as he thought about it. "I don't think that was the point of this, Dive."

"What _was_ the point then?" Nosedive probed, leaning forward so his elbows could rest on his crossed legs. "I mean, bringing back all the bad memories without the good seems kinda masochistic to me." Remembering something from earlier, the teenager sat up and pointed at Grin. "And _you_ said that we were honoring the 'fallen victims.' Technically, no one fell except Wing!"

Grin kept steady eye contact with the youngest team member, but did not respond.

Nosedive did his best to hold the larger duck's intense stare, but finally yielded with a sigh and a shrug. "I love ya Grinster, but you're an odd duck."

Wildwing smirked but did not respond, returning to his meditative stance and expectantly watching Grin.

The pacifist took a deep breath and closed his eyes, his two teammates following suit.

* * *

_1 Revolution Ago_

The rhythmic beeping was almost a lullaby now, a comforting sound in the wake of everything that had transpired. There had been no more alarms and no more issues with the Medicom, nor with the healing process. Wildwing himself was a statue again, the only indication of change coming from the slow rise and fall of his chest, nearly imperceptible with the blanket that had been placed over his torso.

Eventually, Duke had been left to perform his shift. Nosedive remained with him, returning to his stool next to Wildwing, albeit as a shell of his former self. When the teenager's breakdown had gradually subsided, he had become more or less a zombie, completely drained of all emotions and expressions. Tanya and Grin had both encouraged him to get some sleep, and even offered a cot to set up within the infirmary itself, but the young duck had refused.

According to him, he would not sleep until Wildwing woke up.

Technically it was morning time, but Tanya and Grin were still recovering from the battle, too. So the scientist opted to leave it be, telling Nosedive that she'd bring all of the team back into the medbay for lunch, and to go over Wildwing's long term recovery.

It was a polite way of blowing off the bigger issue until later, or until Nosedive simply passed out from exhaustion.

Either way, the young duck agreed, and both Grin and Tanya returned to their respective quarters for a few more hours of rest. Grin had debated waking Mallory with the change in Wildwing's status, as she had requested, but he ultimately decided against it. At this point she'd only gotten 5 hours of sleep or so, and the leader's overall health had not really changed, per se.

He knew she'd disagree when she found out, and would inevitably berate him for it, but those repercussions seemed acceptable enough to let the redhead rest for a few more hours.

Grin himself was exhausted, despite the sleep he'd gotten earlier. The stress of Wildwing's seizure and Nosedive's breakdown had zapped the pacifist of what little rest he had been able to obtain, it seemed.

His worry over both Flashblade brothers would make sleep hard to come by, however, so the pacifist chose to do a long meditation session instead. Done correctly, meditation could accomplish many of the same things sleep could, with the added bonus of putting the mind at ease.

He settled into a cross-legged position on the floor, a few crystals already strategically placed around his bedroom, and let his mind fall into oblivion.

* * *

/ / /

"CANARD!"

The name call was enraged and attracted multiple sets of eyes in the long hallway of North Metropolis High School. The duck in question, wearing his hockey jersey without padding, dramatically rolled his eyes and smirked at some fellow classmates standing next to him.

The yeller, Nosedive, stormed up to him, slamming Canard's locker shut so the two ducks could look at each other face-to-face. Nosedive was over a head shorter than Canard, but he had more than enough anger emanating from him to make the height difference negligible.

"What's up, Nosedive," Canard stated rather than asked, his voice dripping in phony ignorance.

"You know what's up, jerkweed!" the teenager growled out. "What gives, huh? So afraid that I'll actually make the team that you don't even give me a chance to?!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Canard deadpanned, checking to make sure his locker was properly secured before adjusting his backpack on his shoulder and walking away.

Nosedive jogged a few paces ahead of him, going around and getting in front of the tan mallard to stop his progress. "They disqualified me from hockey, Canard, and not just for this year!" The blonde duck's hands were balled into fists at his sides, but one came up and pointed accusingly at him. "Just 'cause I'm a threat to you does _not_ give you the right to smear my name through the mud!"

Canard, with his two friends still standing next to him and watching on, smacked Nosedive's pointing finger away. "Don't give yourself so much credit, short stack—I wasn't on the judging panel, so I didn't make the decision."

"You told them I refused to follow directions!"

"And you didn't," Canard agreed, trying once again to pass Nosedive.

The teenager blocked his advances by sidestepping. "One play, Canard! _One. Play._ I followed every damn rule after that!"

"Only because you whined to your brother and he made me put you in a winger position!" Canard yelled, shoving Nosedive out of the way. "Grow up and grow a pair, Dive."

Canard had walked past Nosedive at this point, but the teenager was far from done. He waltzed up behind the larger duck and shoved him in the back.

The older duck stumbled a step before angrily whipping around. "That's it, puck-face!"

"Bring it on, punk!"

The two ducks had already been pushing one another, but Canard threw a punch that Nosedive barely dodged. A circle had already started forming around them, chanting "Fight!" like an age-old mantra.

They got into an arm lock, both trying to outdo the other. Just when Canard grabbed one of Nosedive's wrists and pulled his own fist high into the air, readying to punch again, a barrel of white shoved itself between them, separating the two.

"ENOUGH!" Wildwing bellowed, stopping the fight and simultaneously dispersing the group of ducks that had taken interest in the event. He instantly spread his arms, both hands pressed against Nosedive and Canard's respective chests and keeping them at arm's length from each other.

Wildwing did not give either fighter time to respond. Grabbing handfuls of Nosedive's and Canard's shirts, the white drake roughly pulled them to a nearby door that led to an empty classroom. He wasted no time in pushing both mallards into the room, with each of them stumbling and cursing at the rough movements.

"What the _hell_ is going on?!" Wildwing interrogated as Nosedive and Canard smoothed out their crinkled tops.

"Your pathetic brother—"

"—Whatever, Canard! You're the one that _ruined_—"

"—attacked me in the hallway—"

"—my chances, all because you've got some—"

"—because he thinks his crappy teamwork—"

"—freakish hatred of my existence!"

"—was somehow my fault!"

The two drakes were now looking at each other, neither backing down from trying to talk over the other.

"You're delusional—"

"It _was _your fault, you—"

"STOP. TALKING," Wildwing loudly demanded, shutting both of them up. Aside from heavy breathing, the room was silent. "Now," Wildwing said through gritted teeth, "Canard, can you tell me your side of the story please?"

Nosedive rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, but did not say anything more. Canard pointed accusingly at the younger duck, his adrenaline still obviously coursing through his veins. "Your _brother_ decided to pick a fight with me, that's what happened."

"NO, I was—"

"AH!" Wildwing stopped Nosedive in his tracks, poignantly looking at his little brother to shut him back up. When he (begrudgingly) obeyed and kept silent, Wildwing nodded and returned his gaze to Canard. "And why do you think he did that?"

Canard, glaring at Nosedive, returned his attention to Wildwing. "He's mad because he didn't make the team and is blaming me."

This time Wildwing balked. "Wait, what?" He looked over to Nosedive. "Dive, there's like two more rounds of tryouts."

Nosedive was glaring right back at Canard. "Yeah, and I'm disqualified."

"_What_?" Wildwing exclaimed, looking back at Canard. "Why?!"

"Why are you looking at me? I'm not a part of the judging panel!"

Wildwing shook his head. "No, but you gave the first feedback from tryouts. Did they say why they disqualified him?"

For the first time that day, Canard looked slightly uncomfortable. "They didn't exactly like that stunt he pulled during the Wheel play."

"And you worded it _so _well, telling them I refuse to follow any directions unless it comes from my brother," Nosedive quipped sarcastically.

Wildwing hadn't broken eye contact with Canard, but his brow furrowed into a frown when the tan mallard did not respond. "Canard?" he finally prompted.

"_What_?"

"Is that what you said?" Wildwing asked, his voice oddly void of any emotion.

There was a long few seconds of silence before Canard simply said, "Yes."

Wildwing kept his voice carefully level. "Canard, why would you do that?"

"What, you mean tell the truth?"

"_No_, Canard, that's not the truth. That's taking one discretion and turning it into an act of war."

Canard was practically fumigating. "They asked _me_ how he behaved during tryouts. I told them _exactly _as I saw it. He refused to play along until you forced me to put him in a winger position."

Wildwing took a long, deep breath. "I asked you to give everyone a chance at each position. I don't think that's an unfair request."

"As the captain I should be allowed to put players where they fit best. Dive worked better as defense."

"You can't honestly say that because you hadn't even given him a _chance_ at offense!"

"_My_ team, _my_ decision. The _problem_, Wing, is that your brother failed to listen to me until you came in and called the shots! That's not teamwork!"

"That's bull!" Nosedive piped up. "I was following all the plays before then. I saw a chance to make a shot myself and I took it. It was one move, Canard!"

"And first impressions matter, Dive!" Canard outright yelled this time. "DuCaine, you two, listen to yourselves! Yes, Dive, I put you in a position you didn't want, but I did it to make you adapt. You're not always going to be the star player, and the sooner you learn that the better."

Nosedive looked ready to rebuff but Wildwing beat him to it. "No, Canard, I don't think that's what this is. I've seen you run dozens of tryouts and you've always switched up the positions." The white mallard shook his head, his voice barely holding its calm tone. "Ross, Gunner, and Shave flipped sides through all the moves before then."

The two older ducks stared each other down for a moment. Wildwing eventually continued with, "Whether or not you realize it, you were treating Dive different than the rest. And even if you were trying to prove a point, I don't think that was the way to go about it."

Canard's sour expression had eased as Wildwing spoke, but it did not last long as he looked back at Nosedive. "Sorry Wing, but I'm standing firm by what I did."

"I told you he had it out for me," Nosedive muttered, his arms crossed over himself. "So much for—"

"Fine," Wildwing replied neutrally to Canard, cutting his little brother off. "You're absolutely right in that it was your decision to do what you did. And it's obvious I can't change your mind on it.

"But I disagree with what you were trying to do. That's not promoting teamwork—that's demanding subservience."

"Oh come on, Wing—"

"—And I don't want to be a part of it."

"What?!" both Canard and Nosedive cried.

Wildwing lightly shrugged. "Find yourself another goalie for the year, Canard." He walked back towards the front of the classroom, the other two ducks seemingly frozen in shock.

Canard snapped out of his trance first. "Wing, it's your senior year! If you want a chance to play in University you _have_ to be on the team this season."

For the first time in a while, Nosedive nodded his head in agreement with Canard. "Yeah, Bro, don't quit 'cause of this!"

Wildwing did not stop. He slammed his hand on the wall to open the hydraulic classroom door, the only sign of anger he had shown throughout the conversation. With a quick turn around the corner he had disappeared into the hall of students bustling to their next class.

"Happy now?" Canard grunted, flashing Nosedive a downright snarl before stomping out of the classroom, as well.

Nosedive, still in a state of shock, took a nearby seat at a desk, his hand coming up to rub his beak tiredly. "_Ugh_ about sums up this day," he said to no one in particular.

\ \ \

"Come ta t'ink of it, not sure I ever seen Wing really ticked off," Duke thoughtfully commented, leaning against one of the numerous cabinets within the Pond's infirmary. "Not visibly, 'nyway."

Nosedive, sitting in the same stool he'd been in for nearly 19 hours now, halfheartedly nodded in agreement. "Doesn't happen often."

The teenager had heavy bags under his eyes (even visible through the feathers), greasy blonde hair, and was still in his battlegear from when they had infiltrated the Raptor. Aside from a couple trips to the nearby lavatory—which was few and far between with Nosedive's refusal to eat or drink—the young duck had done nothing but keep watch on his older brother.

The rest of the ducks had ventured into the infirmary, per Tanya's request, to eat lunch, discuss Wildwing's long term recovery, and discreetly stage an intervention to get Nosedive to take care of some basic survival and hygienic necessities.

Step one: eat lunch had been accomplished. Even Nosedive had finally taken to the sandwich and chips once Tanya assured him that Wildwing was also receiving his necessary nutrients via IV.

During the lull of chewing and crunching, Duke brought up the unfinished story, to both gauge the teenager's response and to simply pass the time.

Thankfully, Nosedive was receptive to finishing the tale, albeit with a lot less gusto than before.

"So, uh, how'd they make up?" Tanya inquired, finishing up her chips and sitting on one of the neighboring Medicoms' empty gurneys.

A hint of a smile crossed Nosedive's beak. "Well, I was brilliant about it, of course."

/ / /

"Canard," Nosedive said once again in the halls of North Metropolis High. This time, however, it was far less angry in tone and well after school, with the large hallway nearly deserted. Canard was alone at his locker, throwing his books into it more roughly than usual.

It had been a few days since the nuclear fallout, as Nosedive had mentally dubbed it. The next round of tryouts was this afternoon, which was most likely where the team captain was headed to next. Wildwing's quitting of the team had not been murmured by other students at all, which meant that both he and Canard had kept mum on their argument. The older drakes had been staying clear of the other, which in itself was unusual, but apparently they were acting civil enough to not arouse suspicion.

However, when Wildwing (inevitably) didn't show up for the next round of tryouts, Canard would have to spill the beans. And what a can of worms _that_ would open...

As Nosedive approached the older drake, Canard sighed heavily and shut his locker, his gym bag slung on his shoulder. "What is it, now?" he icily asked.

"I tried to talk to Wing," Nosedive confessed.

"Right," Canard said and rolled his eyes, "and let me guess: you have to get on the team in order for Wing to come back." It was a statement and not a question, and dripped in contempt as Canard turned his back on the teenager to walk down the hallway.

Nosedive caught up and walked alongside of Canard. "Well, yes and no."

Canard shot him a wry glance.

The young duck sighed. "Look, Canard, I get that you and me are never gonna get along. And, well, that's a problem on a hockey team, right?"

The tan mallard didn't acknowledge Nosedive, but his silence was enough of a response to make the teenager continue.

"So let's compromise. I pucked up during tryouts and didn't play by the rules; fair deal. But I want a shot on the team _next _season."

The larger mallard slowed his determined pace and fully looked over at Nosedive. "You don't want on the team this season?" he finally asked, unable to mask the skepticism in his tone.

Nosedive shrugged. "Well, the answer to that is obviously yes, BUT, like I said, we're gonna always be down each other's throats, y'know? You and Wing graduate next year and will be outta my feathers for tryouts next season, when the slate is clean."

"And Wing will come back as goalie?"

"Er, well, yeah—"

"Dive."

"You gotta apologize," Nosedive blurted out and cringed afterwards. "To Wing, I mean," he added quickly at Canard's almost disgusted expression.

"Ain't happening." Canard started walking towards the gym again.

"Dude, why am I like the psychologist here?" Nosedive muttered, catching back up and walking alongside the team captain once again. "Canard, come on, you and Wing are like best buddies since before I was hatched. Just say sorry."

"Wing asking _me_ to say sorry is pretty pathetic," Canard growled out, not even looking at the younger duck tagging along with him.

"That would be because he didn't ask," Nosedive admitted, earning another pause in Canard's determined pace. When the tan mallard arched an eyebrow, Nosedive elaborated with, "Look. I know my brother. Just telling him this won't be enough. But if you make the attempt to talk about it and say sorry and stuff, he bends. Trust me."

Canard was silent, and almost seemed to consider the request, before shaking his head and waving the younger duck off. "Ain't happening," he said again.

Nosedive did not follow. "Seriously, Canard? You can't possibly be that stubborn!"

"Try me," he replied, turning left at an open doorway and out of sight.

The blonde duck was left alone in the hallway, and his mid-exasperated shrug turned into a full-blown facepalm. "Puckworld will melt before that spoiled drake gives up his pride."

\ \ \

"So did you come up with that idea on your own?" Mallory facetiously asked, leaning against the same gurney that Tanya sat on.

"Don't sound so surprised, Mal-Mal," Nosedive bit back good-naturedly, causing Mallory to smirk. "I'm the first to admit that Wing can be a little, uh, overprotective." He earned multiple snorts for that comment before adding, "So yeah, he went a little extra with quitting. When I told him my idea he was set against it, saying I was the one sacrificing for no reason.

"But playing hockey as a freshman isn't a big deal in high school. You're usually the backups for the backups until you're a junior or senior, anyway."

"It didn't work though," Tanya commented.

"Well, actually, it did," Nosedive replied, the hint of a sly grin crossing his features.

/ / /

"Yo, Divester!"

Nosedive was skating along the border of a park, practicing slapshots into various improvised goals. One of his scoring zones happened to be the iron slots of a fence, and the sudden call made him miss his mark. The puck ricocheted of the metal bar, slapping into a nearby light pole and out into the street, where a motorcyclist honked and swerved to avoid it. Nosedive cringed and waved apologetically in their direction before turning back to the duck skating up to him.

"Hey Gunner, what's up?" he asked, not really itching for conversation.

Gunner, in his typical hyper fashion, did not notice or care about Nosedive's lack of enthusiasm. "Not much. Saw you on my way to my cousin's and thought I'd see how Wing was doing."

Nosedive arched a brow. "What do you mean?"

"During tryouts yesterday, Canard said that Wing had gotten sick. Said he wouldn't be coming."

No words, or thoughts for that matter, came to Nosedive. He stared through his yellow-feathered classmate like he had suddenly become invisible.

Gunner tilted his head, waiting for a response, and was completely oblivious to Nosedive's confusion.

When Nosedive's focus returned, he saw Gunner watching him curiously and coughed out, "Oh." After a long pause, he poorly lied, "Uh, he's getting better."

That got a beaming smile out of Gunner, who was apparently as sharp as a hockey puck. "Good, glad to hear it. Going to be at tryouts next week you think?"

Now _that_ rumor had already been spread like wildfire. Nosedive scoffed and responded, "I got disqualified, dude, remember?"

"What? Nuh-uh, that was just some bogus talk," Gunner idly replied and waved him off.

"Gunner—"

"For real, blondie! You can't believe the grapevine if they don't tell ya it to yer face."

_But they had_. "But—"

"'sides, it came from the captain's mouth himself."

Wait, what? Canard had said that? At tryouts? Nosedive had a frozen expression again, unable to form coherent speech. Gunner didn't seem to mind, slapping Nosedive's shoulder in a friendly manner before heading off in the other direction.

"See ya at tryouts!" he called as he left. "Better put in some extra pizazz since you missed yesterday's!"

Nosedive managed to turn around, watching Gunner wave. "Later!" the yellow duck hollered out before crossing the street.

Eventually, long after Gunner had stopped looking, Nosedive brought his hand up in a deflated wave. "…Later."

\ \ \

"So, wait, ya did join da team dhat year?"

Nosedive's ghostly smile returned as he nodded. "Yup. Went to tryouts that next week and got my shot as winger."

"Whoa, how did that happen?"

The teenager shrugged. "Wing was there as goalie and Canard was there as captain. I followed the rules and didn't say a damn word about it. I tried to get the truth outta Wing, but he brushed it off like it was all Canard's doing.

"And, well, I wasn't about to ask Canard if that was true or not."

"So then what do you _think_ happened?" Mallory probed.

Nosedive let out a big sigh, his head shaking briefly as he thought about it, and both of his hands resting on one of Wildwing's. "Canard was an only duckling, but I think with Wing he had found a brother, in a way. But Wing always, _always_ put me first."

"Sacrifice is something to aspire to," Grin calmly stated, earning four sets of eyes in his direction.

"Wing can be pretty adamant when he wants to be," the youngest team member gently added, turning back to look at his older brother. "It wouldn't surprise me if he stuck his skate in the ground about quitting until I got another chance."

"An' Canard just let 'im?" Duke asked suspiciously, his hands casually gripping the edge of the table he leaned against. "That seems … unlikely."

"In the Academy, Canard was probably the most stubborn duck out of all the cadets," Mallory agreed, her arms crossed over herself.

Nosedive simply shrugged, but Grin stated, "A rope is only as strong as the knot that binds it together."

The rest of the ducks paused again, digesting the seemingly arbitrary sentence.

Tanya seemed to tie the pieces together first when she hesitantly clarified, "Wing … is the knot?"

Grin nodded. Nosedive, still obviously baffled, looked to the other blonde team member.

"You an' Canard share one common element," Duke interjected. "I t'ink Wing was Canard's voice of reasonin', just like he's yers."

"It was probably why he bent so easily with you coming with us, too," Mallory thought out loud. "He was about as straight-laced as you can get, and bringing a minor on the team was a huge liability for him."

"Gee, thanks Mal-Mal."

"It's not about your abilities, Dive," Mallory argued, "it's just how the military is. They don't care about the why of it—everything's black and white when it comes to the rules."

"Mal, I think that's the most honest you've ever been about da Special Forces," Duke quipped, earning a hard glare from the redhead.

She waved them both off. "Look, all I'm saying is that Canard didn't bend the rules for just anyone, and I imagine the same goes for his pride."

That did earn a bout of thoughtful silence from the group. Nosedive returned his attention to his brother, absently rubbing under his eyes as he stifled a yawn.

Tanya suddenly jumped off the adjacent Medicom's gurney, startling the group. "All right, g-guys, we need to talk."

She walked up to Nosedive, one of her hands coming to rest on his shoulder. "Nosedive," she stated seriously, "Wildwing is in a, uh, _induced_ coma. That means the m-medication we're giving him is, uh, keeping him under." She looked back up at the other ducks. "The Medicom is con-continually scanning and repairing what it, um, can, but the brain bleed it can't."

Nosedive's eyes slowly peered up at the older female. "What heals that?" he quietly asked.

Tanya sighed, her hand squeezing the teenager's shoulder. "Time." She released her hold and walked over to the computer, Duke shifting to get out of her way. "But the, uh, current reports are promising. It is showing that the bleeding is slowing, a-and the hope is that in a week or so—"

"A _week_?!" the younger duck squeaked.

"Yes, a week. The Medicom is still healing, uh, tissue damage," Tanya calmly explained, "and the continual bleeding has t-taken a toll on his systems. Right now everything is … well, a-um, waiting game."

She paused, poignantly looking at Duke. He returned her stare blankly at first, then his eyes widened and he straightened up. "Taunny's right, Dive. I get ya want ta be 'ere when Wing wakes up, but he won't 'til we stop dhat medication…" He glanced back at Tanya for a silent confirmation of what he was saying. When she nodded, he continued, "So why don't we get ya cleaned up, meybe take a short snooze before ya pass out?"

"I'm _not_ leaving him," Nosedive stated through gritted teeth. This was not the first conversation to broach the subject, and it was obvious the teenager's patience had worn thin from it.

Mallory stood up this time, hands on her hips. "I'm sorry, did you piss in here?"

"Excuse me?" Nosedive balked.

"Well, you said you won't leave his side."

"Look, smartass—"

"That sounds like a no. So I'm pretty sure you managed to leave and go to the toilet, right?" she pushed, walking up to Nosedive's side so they could make eye contact. "That means a ten-minute shower won't change anything, either." The younger duck opened his beak to retort, but Mallory quickly added, "And you don't have to sleep in your room. I'll get a cot and set it up in here for you."

The statements were brash and Nosedive held the redhead's stare for a few moments, no one saying anything. Apparently directness worked, though, because he eventually sighed and nodded. "All right, I get it, I smell. I'll shower if you get the cot."

"Good," she simply answered, walking out of the infirmary. "You better not be here when I get back!"

Nosedive sarcastically waved Mallory off as the doors shut behind her, but promptly stopped and made a face. "Stars, I _do_ smell..."

"Yes, you do. Welcome back to, uh, reality," Tanya concluded, but smiled warmly at the teenager.

Nosedive's arms immediately returned to his sides, where his armpits could be denied airspace. He glared at Tanya and stuck out his tongue.

"Come on, Mr. Maturity," Duke walked over, helping the exhausted teenager out of the stool. "Grin and I will make sure you don't pass out and drown in an inch of water."

"Why, Duke, I didn't know you cared."

"Oh, I don't. Wing's wrath is far more motivating."

That earned a genuine chuckle from Nosedive, the first one in what felt like ages. Grin joined the two as they exited the infirmary, and Tanya stayed behind to keep an eye on their comatose leader.

* * *

"So, Bro, you gotta lay out the truth here: what _did_ ya do to get Canard to let me try out again?"

Present-day Wildwing had a cool grin plastered on his face, and only nonchalantly shrugged at the question. "Like I told you then, Canard came up to me and apologized. Said you got one more chance for the year, and asked me to reconsider my decision to quit."

Nosedive held his brother's gaze, obviously searching for telltale signs of deceit. When Wildwing kept up his poker face, however, the younger duck half-sighed and half-groaned, shaking his head and looking back at Grin.

"You see what I deal with?"

Grin did not respond to the question, but rather said, "Our journey has ended here."

"Seriously?" Nosedive whined. "Talk about your cliffhangers," he added as a mere grumble. When Grin shot him a frown, the blonde duck quickly held his hands up in mock defeat. "I get it, one revolution equals 24 hours, or whatever. But I still say we haven't honored any fallen victims."

"Dive—"

"This day, one revolution ago, brought many ends and many beginnings," Grin interrupted Wildwing's chastising towards his brother. "Wildwing did not fall, but your heart did, Nosedive. All our hearts, and certainty, fell when our leader was nearly lost."

The pacifist had spoken with his eyes closed, but he opened them to see the brothers watching him intently. "Not all victims perish, but all victims become victors with each new day gained."

The large duck stood, signalling the other two to stand, as well. Wildwing patted Nosedive on his back reassuringly. "And I'm right here. You don't need those memories to remember that."

The teenager rolled his eyes. "Sure, but maybe seeing me in despair for two more weeks until you woke up could've really earned me some guilt-laden practice passes."

Wildwing paused as he stared at his little brother. He glanced at Grin silently, then in one fell swoop arm-locked Nosedive for a (well-deserved) noogie.

"AGH, STOP! MY DOO!"

"You're obviously in need of some brotherly love, Dive!"

Nosedive finally escaped Wildwing's hold, his blonde hair a rather staticky mess on the top of his head. "This means war, hermano!"

"Bring it on," Wildwing effortlessly shot back.

The younger duck smiled evilly, waved goodbye to Grin, and shot out of the room and around the corner. Wildwing laughed as the teenager left, but regained composure as he returned his gaze to the pacifist.

"Thanks for letting us sit in on your meditation, Grin, and for your words of wisdom."

The large gray duck bowed gracefully as the leader left the room. Alone once again, Grin walked up to his doorway and pressed a button, shutting himself inside with a quiet hiss.

He took a deep breath and checked the placement of his crystals and candles. Satisfied with their positioning, Grin returned to his spot on the floor, sitting down and crossing his legs once more.

Honor the fallen. Honor those that had succumbed to the Saurians. The day had started out with the need for remembrance, but as Grin settled down to truly finish the end to a long day one revolution ago, his interest was towards one pivotal conversation.

It would need to be fresh in his mind, as there was an undeniable change coming, one that none of the team could control.

* * *

_1 Revolution Ago_

"Don't go far now, handmaidens," Nosedive joked with a high-pitched voice, waving daintily to Grin and Duke as he entered his quarters to shower and change. Grin ignored the cheeky comment, but Duke blew a kiss with a rather inappropriate finger gesture before the door shut.

"How dhat kid keeps chipper is beyon' me," Duke commented offhandedly.

"Humor is the best defense against pain," Grin simply responded.

Duke took the time to glance at Grin, but eventually let out a small hum. "Meybe." He stretched his arms, turning his neck side to side before rubbing his shoulder muscle tiredly. "Good job d'ere, by the way."

Grin gave only a hint of an arched brow to the gray mallard.

"Fer calmin' the kid down," Duke clarified. "Aside from Wing, I think yer the closest to him. An' I think it's obvious he needs all da support he can get."

The large pacifist took a deep breath, his eyes observing Duke carefully. "Indeed," he replied. He continued watching as Duke languidly paced, until the older drake finally sighed.

"All right, what's wit' da stare down?"

Grin did not hesitate: "You have a heavy aura."

The ex-thief snorted, looking off into the distance. "You know dhat stuff doesn't work wit' me."

"Falcone is a Brother," Grin bluntly declared.

Duke, by all accounts, could probably read others better than Grin could. The ex-thief could see nuances in movements, even something as subtle as a blink, and would be able to immediately deduce if they were lying. Grin, on the other hand, relied on a more ethereal method of judgement. While Duke (and most others, honestly) could not see it, years of meditation had honed the large duck to a certain _presence_ that surrounded all creatures. That presence was not necessarily visible, but rather a range of emotions that could be felt with enough concentration.

So, while Grin couldn't tell if someone was lying, he could feel the guilt, or perhaps the worry, emanating off their essence. In the beginning it was only a hint of recognition, but as Grin learned to focus his own energy towards it, it became second nature to detect. And, because of it, he had become damn good at feeling out the validity of others.

But just because he was connected with their auras did not mean he could read them perfectly. Lucretia had had a heavy aura when he had met her. At the time, however, Grin had chalked it up to her dimensional travelling and fear of the unknown. He had believed her story and attributed her unusual glow to it. Grin had always been more optimistic towards others' intentions, and in this case the large duck had completely misread hers.

He had now known Duke for far longer, however, and Grin was positive that Duke had _never_ had a heavy aura. Not even with the team's first encounter with Falcone, when the ex-thief had supposedly switched sides.

Therefore, when Duke only minutely flinched at Grin's direct statement, it was unsurprising that the pacifist was able to pick up on it.

"He is," Duke calmly responded, no trace of tension in his voice or demeanor.

"Are you?" Grin asked.

"I'm no longer a part of da Brot'erhood."

"That was not the question."

Neither pacifist nor ex-thief backed down from their extended eye contact, and the silence lingered in the otherwise empty hallway.

"What is the cost of honor?" Grin asked at last, his deep voice nearly reverberating in the empty corridor.

"Nothing, if you play yer cards right," Duke answered instantly, crossing his arms.

"Perhaps we have not proven ourselves, then."

"It has nothin' ta do wit'—" Duke cut himself off, taking a deep breath and exhaling it out slowly. "Falcone just ruffled my feathers, all right? He manipulates, it's what he does. You—or da others—'ave nothing ta worry about."

Grin internally sighed. Duke was avoiding the conversation, resolutely, and had no intentions of telling anyone what Falcone had truly asked of him. They had all watched the video footage from Duke's trip to the Queen's Den in Britain, where Falcone had been imprisoned. It was clear that the Raptrin had brought up some history between the two Brotherhood members by speaking in a foreign language, but Duke merely brushed it off as some old Brotherhood law that Falcone was trying to impose.

The others believed him, and Grin was inclined to, as well, except for that heaviness that had settled around the ex-thief's entire being. It had not let up since Duke's return to Anaheim, and when Grin tried to focus in on the aura, all he could feel was absolute anger and uncertainty.

From someone so normally cool and collected, regardless of the situation, it was unsettling.

A faint sound of Nosedive loudly—and badly—singing filtered through his door, helping to dissolve the tension lingering in the air.

Grin chose then to bow deeply to Duke, responding to his earlier assurances. "I trust you, my friend, but you are chained to shadows. If you let the past take control of the present, then you are at risk of costing yourself the future, as well."

Duke did not respond right away. The two gray mallards maintained eye contact, the continual emptiness of their surroundings almost deafening between their unspoken conversation.

If Duke chose not to disclose what had been asked of him, then there was very little Grin could do to help the ex-thief out of his predicament. He believed in his teammate, but he worried whether Duke would put that same trust back into his team.

The weight he was carrying was undeniable, however, and one that no individual should bear alone.

With the discussion at a standstill, Grin took the opportunity to knock on Nosedive's door. The teenager called out sarcastically, "NOT DECENT!" in another high-pitched voice, to which the large duck rolled his eyes at.

"Grin?"

The pacifist looked back to Duke, who had decided to lean against the wall. His arms were crossed, but he had a serious expression on his face when he caught the larger duck's attention.

"Whatever happens, eh … just know that, I _am_ in a Brot'erhood. Dhis one." Before Grin could reply, Duke continued with, "And it's not honor, or trust. It's freedom dhat costs da most."

The ex-leader of the Brotherhood of the Blade briefly adjusted the strap around his eye patch, clearing his throat and pushing off the wall with one of his feet. The door to Nosedive's room suddenly hissed open, its now-clean owner stepping out in street clothes.

"Miss me, ladies?"

Duke grinned. "Come on, Princess Peach, Mario's waitin' for ya in da infirmary." The older drake started walking in that direction, Nosedive trailing after him.

"Hey, if I'm gonna be a princess, I wanna be Zelda!"

"Suit yerself, dweeb."

"Look grandpa, just because _some_ of us don't understand the intricacies that is the gaming world, does _not_ mean you get to throw shade at it. I'll have ya know, Zelda KICKS A—"

Their voices faded abruptly as they left the hallway and entered the Rec Room, the automatic door sliding shut behind them. Grin stood motionless by Nosedive's room, his eyes distant as he absorbed Duke's last sentence and its meaning.

What exactly _was_ the price of freedom?

* * *

_EEEOOOEEEOOOEEEOOOEEEOOO—_

Grin's eyes shot open at the alarm blaring into both his room and his COM unit attached to his wrist. He let out an aggravated sigh and stood up, taking a few extra seconds to blow out the candles in his room before exiting.

Reevaluating a conversation from a revolution ago did nothing to quell the uneasiness that had been plaguing Grin's conscience for a few days, now. While the conversation itself was long ago, there was something about it that had urged Grin to revisit its progression, and eventually spurred his meditation session when all the memories would be the strongest.

He was glad to have Nosedive and Wildwing join him, as these moments were as much theirs as they were his, but he opted to keep his conversation with Duke to himself. If there was something Wildwing had yet to overcome, it was his exceptional ability to overanalyze and worry, and Duke had left a lot of loose ends during that talk a year and a half ago.

Entering the Rec Room, Grin climbed the centralized ladder to the upper platform, where the rest of the team had converged for the alarm. Wildwing, in full battlegear, was already talking with Duke, while Tanya was typing away at the control panel to Drake One.

Grin glanced up and saw a map of Europe, with a very pronounced red, flashing circle on an area within the United Kingdom. Next to it, a picture-in-picture showed a headshot of Ernest Falcone, with the word "MISSING" underneath it.

The uneasy feeling from earlier returned with a vengeance.

* * *

_Anaheim, California_

There was a loud _BANG_, followed by a huge gust of wind. Vivid colors swirled in front of the large form, sending his cape billowing towards it.

He kept himself grounded, however, watching the scene unfold carefully. Long minutes passed, the vortex in front of him continuing to swirl like a psychedelic hallucination. Eventually a lone figure emerged, seemingly walking on air within the colorful tunnel.

The vortex narrowed as soon as the figure managed to pass through, the accompanying heavy winds dying down and its beautiful colors disappearing into the dark gray atmosphere of the dilapidated warehouse they were left in.

"So lovely to see you, my dear," Falcone stated, his arms crossed in front of him. His cape, no longer flying freely from the dimensional gateway, only subtly moved from the stale air of the desert night.

Despite the ocean breeze that occasionally wafted through, the dry heat remained and had turned the tourist city into an oven for the summer.

Lucretia DeCoy, looking slightly disheveled, glanced up at him and back to the remote device in her hand. She dropped it quickly, almost as if the controller had suddenly burst into flames. "Where … where am I?" she hoarsely asked.

Falcone smiled, walking up to her. She instinctively backed away from him, however, her eyes darting about. Realizing her anxiety, Falcone put his hands up innocently. "There there, my darling. You remember me, yes? Ernie Falcone of the Brotherhood of the Blade? We met briefly during the War, after you had taken down PIA."

Lucretia watched him apprehensively, but his words did seem to register as her expression slowly changed. "What happened?" she finally questioned, slowly returning her observation to the partially demolished building.

"You were brought here by Dragaunus, as was I. From what I read in the logs, it seems Wildwing played you for a fool and made Dragaunus think you had betrayed him. He sent you to Dimensional Limbo. Ringing some bells in that cute little head of yours?"

Lucretia eyed the Raptrin as he spoke, her guard up despite being confused. When he finished she looked away, thinking.

"Yes," she ultimately answered. "The proteus chip." Falcone was next to her now and she peered up at him suspiciously. "How'd you get me out of there?"

Falcone's smile broadened, his arm gently reaching out to wrap around the female duck's thin shoulders. "We have a lot to catch up on, my dear. Please, let us get you somewhere nice to get cleaned up and I'll tell you all about it."

The Raptrin guided them out of the barren warehouse, only briefly stopping to pick up the remote device Lucretia had dropped. The female let him guide her, her arms wrapping around herself as she readjusted to her new surroundings.

fin


End file.
